100 Tales Challenge
by The Colorless Sunset
Summary: I've decided to take the 100 Tales Challenge! I thought it sounded fun, and I'm pretty bored, so I might as well. Rated T for blood and violence.
1. Beginning

**Hey! Starfall, here! I decided to take the 100 Tale Challenge! I know I won't win, because the other competitors are already on, like, the 25****th**** chapter, but…whatever! I thought it looked fun (Yes, everyone, as mean as I can be, I **_**do**_** have a fun side!). So here's the first one.**

THE BEGINNING

Sunlight streaked between the leaves of the trees, creating shadowy patterns along the ground. Brackenclaw inhaled the scent of the forest and let the sun warm his tabby pelt. He had gone out hunting with his mate, Dawncloud, who was very pregnant, but insisted on hunting with him. She rested beside some tangled tree roots at the base of an oak's trunk to catch her breath. She was washing herself when suddenly, she gave a sharp gasp. "Brackenclaw! My kits…the kits…are coming!"

Brackenclaw's eyes widened and he rushed to his mate's side, feeling fear prickle up his spine. "Just push, Dawncloud!" he urged. "Please! It'll all be over soon!" He wanted to run and get his Clan's medicine cat, Juniperheart, but he couldn't leave her alone. Perhaps some cat would hear her yowling and come.

Dawncloud gave a loud wail as a kit slipped onto the damp ground. Brackenclaw quickly tore open the clear, slimy sac around it and licked its fur the wrong way to get the blood flowing.

She gave another shriek and her body erupted in spasms as another kit slid out. Brackenclaw's heart nearly stopped when he saw it not breathing. He ripped open the sac, but it was too late. The kit was stillborn. Dawncloud gave another warning wail, and Brackenclaw turned to her. She needed him.

When the birth was over, Dawncloud was left with shallow breathing. The last two kits had come out the wrong way, and had both also been stillborn. The only alive kit had tortoiseshell fur, just like her mother's. Brackenclaw crouched over his mate and licked her all over her face. "Dawncloud! Dawncloud, please! Don't leave me! Don't die! Your kit needs you!"

Dawncloud nodded and took a deep breath, but immediately erupted in harsh coughing. Brackenclaw rasped his tongue over her chest, but he knew it wouldn't help. "Dawncloud! Don't die…your kit needs you! _I_ need you!"

"Brackenclaw…" She gazed up at him, the most angelic expression on her face, as though she could see something beautiful behind him. Her green eyes twinkled and shone, even though the sun was facing her back. "I…I think it's the end now."

"The end of what?" Brackenclaw gasped. "Don't die! Please! Just hold on a little while longer, I'll go get Juniper-"

"The end…of me," Dawncloud whispered. Her eyes squinted into the sky and her breathing became shallower. "I must…go up with Morningfrost now."

Brackenclaw gaped at his mate. Morningfrost was Dawncloud's deceased mother whom she loved so much. She had died from a bad case of blackcough. "No…no, you can't go to Morningfrost yet! You're…you just had a kit who needs you very much! Please! Please…don't leave me! I love you! You can't die just yet!" Tears filled his amber eyes and threatened to course down his cheeks.

"This is end, now." Dawncloud seemed far away, in the distance, even though she was right there in front of Brackenclaw. Her green eyes glazed over as she whispered out her last breath, "I love you, Brackenclaw…"

Then she lay limp. Brackenclaw didn't wail, though. He just let the tears fill his eyes, blurring his vision. He gazed at the tiny, helpless, mewling kit that rested beside Dawncloud's belly. Brackenclaw gently lifted her up and placed her at his paws. She squeaked and gave a pitiful mew. He lowered his head and licked her pelt. "I need to name you, don't I?"

Brackenclaw studied her for a moment, and decided to honor his mate. "You will be Dawnkit."

Dawnkit squealed as though approving the name he had chosen.

For Dawncloud it was the end, but for Dawnkit, it was just the beginning.

**Well, did you like it? I'm not quite sure how long it should be, because I thought and typed this up before I was even approved of being part of the 100 Tale Challenge. I wanted to get a head start, since I was so far behind. So see you in the next chapter!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	2. Wanna Play?

**The second tale already! Wow! Only about a minute after I finished typing the first one! By the way, I'm reading this book called ****Eyes of the Emperor**** for Compact ELA next year and…well…the first sentence of this chapter is the exact first sentence of the book. I didn't mean to copy it, but…it fits perfectly, and…I hope this isn't plagiarism! **

WANNA PLAY?

I would be lying if I said I wasn't afraid.

Why was I even doing this?

_I have to love him!_ I snapped silently at myself.

Another part of my brain was screaming at me, _it's dangerous, now that Pinefur is a rogue! If I don't love him, I'll be a goner!_

"Dapplewing!"

I jumped as someone hissed my name from behind me. I spun around, and to my relief, it was only my best friend, Poppyleaf. The tortoiseshell she-cat galloped over to me. "What are you doing out here? Pinefur could be anywhere!"

"I know, I know." I remembered Pinefur's threatening addition to ShadowClan, and I couldn't help but shiver. He killed the former ShadowClan deputy, Kestrelwing, who Pinefur called a "spineless, mouse-brained fool", and the leader, Featherstar, banished him from the Clan. He was my mate before I even knew how threatening he was, and I loved him very much. I would soon be pregnant with his kits. Before Pinefur left the Clan for good, he promised ShadowClan one last thing: "I'll find all of you one day…and kill you! Every single one of you mange-pelts! I will skin you alive, you hear me?" I now shuddered when I saw innocent ShadowClan kits playing 'Kestrelwing versus Pinefur'. They had no idea how dangerous Pinefur really was. Now I had to meet with Pinefur every other night at moonhigh to tell him Clan secrets. I usually told him that there was nothing going on, which was true. He sometimes didn't believe me and clawed my pelt in anger that I was disloyal to him.

"I'm just…hunting!" I stammered, choosing my words carefully. "You know, since leaf-bare will be here soon, I thought that the Clan might need some extra prey."

"Yeah, we will," Poppyleaf agreed. "But why are you hunting at _night?_ And all alone? Pinefur is surely around here."

"I…I'm a better hunter at night! You know how ShadowClan cats are." Poppyleaf was originally a RiverClan cat, but her father mated with a RiverClan she-cat and was taken into ShadowClan during her apprenticeship because the RiverClan leader didn't want half-Clans. To me, that was cruel. But at least it gave me the chance to meet Poppyleaf. She was a great friend.

"Plus, I didn't want to wake any cat up to go hunting with me," I added. "Everyone has been working so hard, and I haven't really, so I thought I should go by myself."

"Whatever," Poppyleaf sighed. "I'm hunting with you, since there is so much danger lurking in the shadows, you know?"

I felt dread creeping up my throat like bile. If I didn't meet with Pinefur, he'd find me and kill me in my sleep! I shuddered from the thought and the chilly breeze and followed Poppyleaf through our territory.

"Um, why don't you go look over there?" I flicked my tail towards ThunderClan territory. "I'll hunt around here."

"No," Poppyleaf argued. "I'm staying with you. It's like you _want _to hunt alone."

_I want to _be _alone! _I thought. _I _need _to be alone! Or else, Pinefur will kill you, too!_

"I don't," I mumbled, forcing a half-smile.

We couldn't find any prey, but finally it was moonhigh. I yawned, but didn't dare suggest going back to camp. Pinefur could come and murder me. Suddenly, Poppyleaf stopped and scented the air. "What's that weird smell? I hope it isn't a badger!" Her eyes widened. I recognized the scent at once-_Pinefur!_ My heart raced and fear prickled the fur on my neck.

"Let's follow it! Maybe we'll find out what it is, and we can tell Featherstar!" Poppyleaf grinned and crouched down, her eyes wide and nostrils flare. She began stalking in the direction of the scent. I followed, dreading the moment we found Pinefur in place of badgers.

"It's strongest in that badger's set!" Poppyleaf whispered, glancing over her shoulder at me. I nodded weakly and swallowed hard. This was Pinefur's den.

"Well, hello ladies!"

Poppyleaf's tortoiseshell fur shot straight up and her ears swiveled. She glanced around.

"Hi there, pretty face." StarClan, no. That was what Pinefur always called me. "It looks like you brought a friend."

There he was, pouncing down from the pine tree he was sitting in. He prowled toward us hungrily and Poppyleaf gave a sharp gasp. I could see him unsheathe his claws in the moonlight. He blinked his green eyes slowly and gave a little chuckle.

As he neared closer, Poppyleaf and I backed away. He swiped his tongue over his lips. "Wanna play?"

**O.O Creepy! This seems a little too short; on Word Document it only takes up about half of a page. Well, the ending leaves it open for you to imagine what happens next! I feel bad for poor Dapplewing. I was originally going to use Dapplefur, but I then realized that it was already used in Warriors. Also, Pinefur already had "fur" after his prefix. Dapplefur and Pinefur sounds cheesy. I dunno. Well, onto the next tale!**

**xx-Starfall-xx **


	3. So You Think You're Tough, Huh?

**Tale number 3!!!**

SO YOU THINK YOU'RE TOUGH, HUH?

"Bramblepaw, Larkpaw, go on ahead and hunt around Twolegplace," Lionclaw instructed. "Raincloud and I will hunt around here."

Feeling energy burst through him, Bramblepaw nodded and raced down the slight slope towards Twolegplace.He and his brother were finally old enough to be trusted to hunt without a warrior with them! He purred as he galloped ahead of Larkpaw, who was struggling to match his brother's pace.

"Wait up, Bramblepaw!" he called. Bramblepaw sighed and waited for his brother to catch up.

"You run too slow." Bramblepaw turned and pelted away, weaving through shady oak trees, feeling the soft grass beneath his massive paws.

Once the two toms reached the fence that divided the forest from Twolegplace, Bramblepaw meowed, "You go over there." He pointed his muzzle toward ShadowClan territory. "I'll hunt over there." Then he turned his head and motioned his tail on the opposite end of where Larkpaw would hunt.

They split up, and Bramblepaw quickly and easily caught a field mouse and a robin. Suddenly he spotted a brown creature moving along the base of a tree trunk. Bramblepaw inched himself toward it, and was about to pounce when a flash of black and white fur landed on top of the mouse, swiftly killing it with a bite to its neck.

Bramblepaw hissed. "Who are you, and what are you doing on ThunderClan territory?" He unsheathed his claws and flattened his ears.

"Sheathe your claws," the black and white tom meowed, jumping down from the pile of soil that lay at the base of the trunk, the dead mouse in his jaws. "I saw it first."

"This is _my _territory! Get away, kittypet!"

"Kittypet? Oh, you are _so_ mousebrained!"

"You _are_ a kittypet!" Bramblepaw felt fury rise from his claws to the tips of his ears and he kneaded the ground with his claws. "Get off ThunderClan territory! I'm not afraid to fight you!"

The cat sat down and groomed his paw. "You look so tough. If I had no sense, I would be running right now like a mouse from a cat."

"I _am _tough!"

"Really?" The tom glanced up at Bramblepaw, looking a bit sly. Suddenly, he bowled him over, pinning him down easily. "Who's tough now?"

"I am!" Bramblepaw flung himself at the cat, raking his thorn-sharp claws down his flanks. The black and white tom swiftly slipped out from between Bramblepaw's grip and clamped his jaws around his tail. Bramblepaw hissed and snapped his teeth at the cat, trying to at least nip him on his own tail. Finally he yanked his tail out from the cat's clutches. It stung and was missing a clump of fur on the tip, but didn't give up. He _was _tough, whether the cat thought so or not! Bramblepaw leapt again, but the black and white cat slipped under him and tripped him with his forepaw. Bramblepaw crashed to the ground in a dazed heap.

"Well, well, well." The cat paced around Bramblepaw. "Do I seem like a kittypet to you now? _Clan _cat?" He spat the word "Clan" like he was saying "crowfood".

"Clan cats have much better comebacks than _that,"_ Bramblepaw muttered, loud enough for the cat to hear him. He heard the tom growl, and he flung himself on top of Bramblepaw; his claws raking down his spine. Bramblepaw yowled in agony, feeling searing, burning pain ripping through his back. The cat sank his teeth into Bramblepaw's ear. He was shredding him to bits!

Finally the black and white tom sprang off of Bramblepaw, who gave a tiny whimper and rolled onto his back. Blood from his torn ear trickled into his eyes, staining his eyesight with scarlet. The tom padded over to him and placed a paw on his throat. "So you think you're tough, huh?"

**Well, this was poorly written and probably very boring. Sorry about that! It was also extremely short! Oh well, onto the next chapter!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	4. Sunrise

SUNRISE

I opened my eyes to darkness, just like I did every morning. Mother wasn't next to me like she usually was, but my brother and sister, Smokekit and Splashkit, were lying beside me. I yawned and stretched, realizing how early it was. I padded out of the nursery and immediately scented her. I made my way to her, and mewed, "Morning, Mother. What are you doing out here?"

"I'm waiting for the sunrise, sweetheart."

"What are you going to do when it's sunrise?"

"I'm going to watch it while it comes up."

"Oh." I was disappointed that it was something I couldn't do with her. As a blind kit, there were many things I couldn't do. I sighed and sat down beside her.

"Aren't you sleepy, Ravenkit?" she asked me.

"Not really."

"You won't get bored just sitting here?"

"Of course not. I love it when it's just me and you."

She purred and licked me between my ears. Warmth spread from my claws to my tail-tip and I felt a purr rumbling in my throat. It didn't matter if I couldn't watch the sunrise; as long as I was with her, I was content.

"Is it rising yet?" I asked. Mother chuckled and replied, "Not yet. But it will soon."

We were quiet for a moment, until I heard Mother murmur, "It's rising now." I could slowly feel the warmth from the sun wash over my body and over the whole forest. I wondered what the forest looked like. And then I wondered something else.

"Mama," I began. I only used the name 'Mama' when I was telling her something important and heartfelt. "What does the sunrise look like?"

"Um…I'm not sure you can visualize it in your mind, since you…you've never seen color." She sounded uncomfortable saying that, as though she thought she would hurt my feelings, but it didn't. I just wanted to know, even if I wouldn't understand what she was saying. "I know. I just want to know…what does it look like?"

"Well…it breathtaking. It makes the clouds turn pink and the sky turn purple. The sun itself is too bright to look at, but…the sky is just beautiful. Just magnificent. Oh, Ravenkit, I wish so badly that you could see it. It's the most wonderful sight you'd ever seen."

These were just words to me. I didn't know what she meant by pink and purple, but I knew those words meant something to her.

"Sometimes the sunrise isn't beautiful. Sometimes it turns the sky white or red. But…" Mother sighed. "It is just beautiful today."

I felt something stir inside my chest and I scooted closer to her, inhaling her sweet, milky scent; feeling her soft fur against my pelt. "The sunrise _is_ beautiful today, Mama."

**Aww!!! –sniff- Now isn't that just the sweetest thing? Wow, this was really short. It probably just looks long because of all the separate lines I have in it. I thought it was pretty good! Even though it is short…oh well! Next chapter will be up in a flash!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	5. Midnight Run

MIDNIGHT RUN

My paws felt as though they were scarcely touching the ground. My breath came out in pants and the sharp wind ruffled my fur and blew my whiskers back. I stood at the end of RiverClan territory, staring at the watery reflection of the moon that appeared in the black river. I shuddered, wishing I could've just been born a RiverClan cat, like everyone else in the Clan.

I had been found in a bush on the very edge of WindClan territory when I was just 2 moons old. My mother, who was a WindClan warrior and didn't want me, had abandoned me. The Clan didn't know that she'd had me and my brothers, who had died from hunger and cold. A RiverClan patrol spotted my dark ginger pelt through the leaves of the bush and asked me if I belonged to WindClan. I said I didn't, because I was afraid that if I said that I was, they wouldn't take me in. They were very kind and loving, giving me to a nursing queen named Dovewing. Now, as a grown warrior, I tried to hide every drop of WindClan blood in me. I went out on a run every night to get the burning energy that raced through my paws, urging me to run as fast as I could.

"You run fast."

A voice behind me caused me to spin around. It was Dewwhisker, a cat that I'd been apprenticed with. "Oh…hello, Dewwhisker."

He grinned. "Hey, Redstripe. Out on a midnight run?"

"Um…yeah, I guess you could call it that." I forced a smile. He waved his tail. "Want to race me back to camp?"

"Won't some cat hear us?"

"Naw. If they do, I'll cover for you."

"Thanks."

"Come on!" He turned around and pelted away. I hissed and easily caught up to him. "Bye!" I hollered as I raced on past him. He growled in a teasing way and pumped his legs harder, but still didn't catch up. I quickly made it to camp and waited a few heartbeats until Dewwhisker reached me. We both sat there, gulping in mouthfuls of air.

"You run as fast as a WindClan cat!" he panted.

My heart stopped and I smiled weakly. "Sure, okay."

"Maybe that's because you were found in a WindClan bush. Maybe the speediness of the territory just rubbed off on you." Now he was just joking. I twitched my whiskers.

Dewwhisker suddenly pricked his ears. I heard it too-pawsteps coming toward us from behind. We both turned to see the Clan's most senior deputy, Hawktalon.

"What are you two doing out here so late?" he growled.

Dewwhisker and I exchanged glances. Then he looked back at Hawktalon and grinned. "We were just out on a little midnight run."

**Wow, that's soooo short! And soooo stupid! –sigh- whatever. I just want to get to at least chapter 7 by tonight. It's already…9:43 PM. Great. I have to go to bed early because I have to wake up at 7:45 all this week to help out with Vacation Bible School at my church. Well, I hope you liked!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	6. Broken Promises

**Hmm…I'm typing this about…1 minute after I finished "Midnight Run", and I have a very, very vague idea of what I'll write about for this chapter. I'm not totally sure it'll work and what I'll come up with, but I think it's a pretty okay idea.**

BROKEN PROMISES

I remember when I was just a little kit, living outside the Clans, along with my mother and my brother and sisters. I was a kit of four-which was a lot for a loner to have. Mother called my sisters Stream and Brook. My brother was named Ripple. And I was called Rain. Why Mother named us all water forms, I have no idea. She said that our father left us when we were born, not even saying goodbye to Mother. I found that story heartbreaking. I wish I could've gotten to know our father.

I remember that snowy leafbare day when we were starving and huddled in a small hole between some tree roots. Snow piled in on top of us, but we didn't care. All we wanted was food. We were too old to drink milk, and Mother couldn't find any food for herself to eat so she could provide milk, anyway. A chilly wind rustled the half-frozen leaves on the tall oak trees and whispered through my freezing fur. I shivered and Brook scooted closer to me, as if wanting to make me warmer. I remembered Mother telling us we would all survive. She promised us she'd find food.

I remember when Stream died from the hunger. Ripple was near death, and I could tell Mother was too. Soon they both died too, and ThunderClan found Brook and me. They fed us fresh-kill and placed us in a nice, warm den in a bed of moss. We were put under the care of a queen named Sunpelt. She was warm like the sun and her ginger fur was bright as the sun.

So as we snuggled there against her warm belly, I thought about Mother. She never found us food.

I remember when Brook and I became apprentices-Brookpaw and Rainpaw. The Clan deputy, Mallowfrost, was my mentor. He was fairly nice, but for some reason, I just wasn't getting the hang of hunting. "All apprentices have trouble with hunting at first," he told me. "You'll get it within a quarter moon; you just wait. I promise."

Now that I think about it, I got the hunting down in half a moon.

I remember when Brookpaw decided that she wanted to go to RiverClan. I gaped at her when she gave me this news. "Why?" I kept asking her. She shrugged and claimed, "I don't know. I just do." The next day, before she left, she meowed, "I'll see you at every Gathering, don't worry. I promise."

At my second Gathering, Brookpaw wasn't there. At my third Gathering, Brookpaw, probably now a warrior like me, wasn't there.

I was now Rainstorm. They probably named me that for my stormy personality to the world. So many promises, broken. Snapped in half, just like that. I try to ignore the rude looks my Clanmates shoot at me. I try to ignore the whispers. The taunts. The glares.

Maybe I wouldn't be Rainstorm if they hadn't broken their promises.

**Wowww. CRAPPY!!!!!! I think this is worst thing I've ever written! –sigh- **

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	7. Frozen

**Ugh. I have **_**no**_** idea what I'm gonna write about this one. –weeps- it might be a little like the first chapter, so…yeah.**

FROZEN

"You're doing great, Whitecloud," Cinderpool mewed gently. "Just push."

Whitecloud felt pain shoot up her body as a kit slid out. She gave a thin wail. "Keep going," Cinderpool urged.

Meanwhile, Whitecloud's mate, Gorseclaw, prowled throughout the forest in a hunter's crouch. He was determined to feed his pregnant mate well, who he didn't know was kitting at the moment. Prey was especially scarce in leafbare, and he was working as hard as ever.

Gorseclaw gazed over the river that divided RiverClan territory from ShadowClan. It was frozen over; thick sheets of ice blanketed the surface.

Suddenly he spotted a thrush, pecking obliviously at the ground in search for seeds. Eyes wide and nostrils flared, Gorseclaw inched toward it, then pounced, landing squarely on top of it. It squawked, and then was silent, limp underneath its predator's paws. Gorseclaw proudly scraped some dirt over it.

"Nice catch." Flamefur appeared, his bright ginger fur sticking out from the snow like a rabbit in a flock of pigeons. He held a scrawny shrew in his mouth and dropped it at his paws. "This was all I could find. At least it'll feed one hungry mouth."

Gorseclaw glanced at the gaunt piece of fresh-kill and twitched his whiskers.

"I almost caught a mouse back there, too, but it heard me crunching through the snow," Flamefur added bitterly. He lifted a paw and swiped it at the snow, spraying powdery white flakes into the chilly air. "What else have you caught?"

"A rabbit," Gorseclaw answered, and Flamefur widened his eyes. "In this weather?"

"It's a young one, though, and pretty thin." Gorseclaw glanced up at the sky. It was mostly a pale gray color with some white, glowing clouds, threatening more snow. "And that's it so far."

"We'd better get back to camp soon," Flamefur told him. "I wonder how Thornstripe is doing. He's a pretty good hunter. I haven't seen him since we split up. Have you?"

Gorseclaw shook his head. "But I scented him. It was pretty fresh, and it was just a little while ago. I wonder how Whitecloud is doing…I want to see her."

Flamefur looked at Gorseclaw with understanding glowing in his green eyes. "You can go back to camp with your prey, and send another warrior or two out to hunt. Tell them that I need them."

"Thanks." Gorseclaw dipped his head, unburied his thrush and rabbit, and dashed back towards the camp.

"You're almost done," Cinderpool soothed. She turned to her apprentice, Shadepaw. "Go get some borage leaves and bring one poppy seed. Just one." Shadepaw darted off. Whitecloud gave a wail and pushed, her body racking with pain.

"Oh, StarClan…" Cinderpool gasped. Whitecloud yowled as the last kit slipped out. But…it was stuck. Cinderpool tried not to panic. She tried to pull it out gently, but its tiny face was already bluish purple. It had already suffocated. It finally came out, and Cinderpool and Whitecloud stared at it in awe and gloom.

"Whitecloud! Are you okay?" Gorseclaw pushed his way into the nursery, panting. "Oh…our kits! They've been born!" He had a joyous glow in his eyes as he bounced to her, swiping his tongue over her face. Then he saw the kit. His face fell. "…Oh…"

Whitecloud nodded. "Yeah. She was…stillborn."

"I know." His mouth was a grim line.

"Well…let's try to ignore that! Let's name the kits." Whitecloud tried to brighten the mood. There were two toms and a she-cat. "How about…Littlekit, for the black and white tom?"

"Can the black she-cat be Nightkit?"

"Yeah! And the gray tom can be Graykit." Whitecloud smiled.

Gorseclaw's eyes swept sadly to the little unmoving white bundle. The kit that would never become an apprentice or a warrior. She looked like a piece of ice. Like the river. She looked frozen.

**Ugh. CRRRAAAPPPPPYYY!!! Seriously. This really, REALLY sucked. I'm sorry about that. I was texting my friend, and she was just…really sad. **

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	8. Can't Even Save Myself

CAN'T EVEN SAVE MYSELF

I awoke to a harsh, hacking cough beside me. I slowly turned my head to see Tawnykit lying in her moss nest. She squirmed in pain as she coughed harder. She turned to me. "Hollypaw…please…please save me."

"Brightflower and I are working hard to save you, Tawnykit," I replied gently. I stood and handed her some catmint, and then she chewed and swallowed the sweet-smelling leaves.

"Brightflower, I gave Tawnykit some more catmint-" I broke off in a gasp. Brightflower lay in her nest, her eyes half open and glassy, her fur dull and whiskers drooping. "Brightflower!" I raced to her side to feel her paw pads, but she rose to her paws slowly.

"I'm fine, Hollypaw," she rasped. "I just woke up."

"Are you sure?" I demanded. "You look so ill!"

"I'm sure."

"Okay, well…I gave Tawnykit more catmint, because she seemed worse," I explained.

"Did you just wake up?"

"Yes."

"Well…can you give Dustclaw some poppy seeds? He was complaining that he couldn't fall asleep yesterday."

"Sure…okay." I grabbed a few black seeds, padded into the patient's part of the den, and passed them to the gray tabby elder. He coughed, lapped them up and closed his eyes.

I headed back into the storage den where Brightflower was gathering some dried oak leaves from last leaf-fall. She cleared her throat. "Um…I'm going to take these to Rabbitfur. He was scratched by some brambles when coming back from that walk that Runningbreeze and Specklepelt took the elders on…" She coughed and left the den, carrying the dried leaves in her jaws.

A quarter moon passed. Hollypaw felt overwhelmed taking care of all the sick cats, including Brightflower, by herself. Brightflower had come down with greencough as well, and added to the seven sick cats, now eight. She'd asked the Clan deputy, Berrywhisker, to send out some patrols to search for catmint, but only a few stalks were found.

Hollypaw felt Brightflower's paw pads. They were burning, and she sighed, shaking her head. "Your fever hasn't broken yet. Let me bring you some borage, because we're out of feverfew…" Hollypaw dashed into the storage den, grabbed some of the hairy leaves, and rushed back to Brightflower. "Chew these."

"No, Hollypaw," Brightflower rasped, coughing. "Give them to Tawnykit. She's getting worse by the heartbeat."

"You are too!"

"No I'm not. I have greencough, and she's on the verge of blackcough!" Brightflower gave a hacking cough.

"I already gave her the last of our feverfew a little while ago. Please, Brightflower, eat these!" Hollypaw gently pushed the leaves in front of her muzzle. Sighing, Brightflower lapped them into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

"Thank you," Hollypaw sighed. "Do you want some poppy seeds?"

"No," Brightflower snapped. "Quit fussing over me and start worrying about the other patients!"

Another quarter moon passed, and Hollypaw soon found herself lying in a nest between Tawnykit and Brightflower, burning with fever. She awoke in the middle of the night to harsh hacking beside her. "Tawnykit," Hollypaw wheezed. "Are you all right?"

Tawnykit turned to her, her green eyes shining with high temperature. "Hollypaw, please…save me..."

Hollypaw sighed, knowing there was no hope for the sick cats. There was no cat to care for them. Brightflower couldn't, because her greencough turned to blackcough. Hollypaw was too ill and too inexperienced, at that, to take care of the twelve sick cats, not including herself. "How can I save you, when I can't even save myself?"

**Um, crap. This is some serious crap I wrote here.**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	9. Expectations

**I actually have sort of a plan for this one. I actually have two, but I think this one will be better.**

EXPECTATIONS

"Tuck and roll, Mousepaw, tuck and roll! No, roll the other way…"

Mousepaw rose to his paws, shaking the sand off his pelt. "Did I do it right that time, Birdflight?"

Birdflight nodded weakly, even though he hadn't done it right. "You were almost there!"

Mousepaw's face fell. "Oh…not perfect yet?"

"Almost!" Birdflight's heart sank for the little kitten. Brokenstar had made him an apprentice when he was three moons old, and now he was three and a half moons. Supposedly there would be a big battle with WindClan soon. _Mousepaw isn't ready for a real battle! He's much too small and too young!_ "Um, let's go hunting for a little bit, and then we can go back to camp."

"That was so close!" Birdflight called to Mousepaw, who had just pounced on a vole but missed by a mouse-length. Mousepaw turned around. "Not close enough, though." His small ears folded against his head.

"I-it's okay!" Her heart nearly cracked.

"No, it's not…all the other apprentices have caught prey before, but I've never even caught one piece!"

That was true. "Well…maybe-" Birdflight caught herself before she made things worse. "It's okay," she repeated.

Mousepaw sighed. Birdflight thought quickly. "Let's head back to camp. We don't want to get rained on."

Mousepaw glanced at the sky, which was dark gray and threatening to let the cold raindrops out. Birdflight picked up her rabbit and starling and led her apprentice back to camp.

"What?" Brokenstar bellowed. "You caught _nothing?_ Not _one piece of prey? _It's _newleaf! _How could you catch _nothing_ in _newleaf?"_

"He-he's still just a kit, Brokenstar…" Birdflight stood up for her young apprentice, who cowered beside her, his eyes wide and ears flattened against his head.

"Did I _ask_ you to say anything?" Brokenstar demanded. Birdflight shook her head.

"As for you…" He glared at Mousepaw. "…You will clean out the elders' den for a moon! And by the way, I want you to have a mock fight with Hazelpaw tomorrow."

Birdflight bristled. Hazelpaw was the second oldest apprentice, beside Blackpaw. She had to say something. She couldn't let Mousepaw be trampled by Hazelpaw. "Brokenstar, I don't think Mousepaw is ready to fight such an experienced apprentice. He's only been training for half a moon…"

"Shut up!" Brokenstar swiped his unsheathed claw at Birdflight, catching her ear. She wailed and ducked her head, letting the tip of her ear rip. Blood trickled down her head and she gasped from the pain. Mousepaw hovered over her. "Hey! That was mean!"

Brokenstar swatted him away, knocking him over a fox-length away. He shoved his way into his den in silence.

Some warriors peered out of the den from Birdflight's yowling. Sunspots, a ginger and white queen, raced out of the nursery to help her. "Birdflight, did he do this to you?" She pointed her muzzle at the leader's den.

Birdflight nodded and winced, hot tears burning the backs of her eyes. "Let me go get Rosethorn." Sunspots spun around and darted into the medicine cat's den. A few moments later she returned with a golden-brown she-cat carrying cobweb and marigold.

"Rosethorn…" Birdflight panted. "Mousepaw…" She pointed her tail to her limp gray apprentice. Sunspots rushed over to him while Rosethorn applied the marigold juice to Birdflight's ripped ear. Then she quickly patted the cobweb on it. "Come to me tomorrow morning so I can replace it." Rosethorn stood and hurried over to Mousepaw.

"I heard what happened with Brokenstar," Redstripe, one of Birdflight's best friends, meowed when they were in their den. It was nighttime, and rain was pouring down heavily. Birdflight nodded and rested her chin on her paws. "I just…don't think Mousepaw can live up to his crazy, too-high expectations."

**Another crappy chapter! Yay. **

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	10. Too Much

**Okay. I've got NO idea what I'm going to write for this one. NO IDEA.**

TOO MUCH

"Sandkit, stay away from that!" Hazelfur hissed, snatching her kit up by the scruff of his neck. She carried him over to her nest and sat him down. "Don't ever touch the nursery walls! Warriors worked hard to get them the way they are!" She nudged him out of the nursery and sighed.

"Mama!" Petalkit loped to her from outside. "Beechkit and Stripekit aren't letting me and Goldenkit play with them!"

"Go and tell them that if they don't let you play, they'll be in the nursery for half a moon." Frustration prickled Hazelfur's pelt as she watched her kit bound outside.

She rested her chin on her paws and closed her eyes.

"I don't understand how you can take care of eight kits!" Wingfeather meowed, sitting down beside Hazelfur. "Three is more than enough for me!"

Hazelfur yawned. "It's difficult, but I guess that StarClan wanted it upon me."

"In a good way?" Wingfeather tilted her head. "Or a bad way?"

"I don't know. It's StarClan's will." Hazelfur tried to hide the irritation in her voice, and let it all out with a loud sigh. She closed her eyes again.

"Hazelfur! Hazelfur, wake up!" Hazelfur felt paws shoving her and she opened her eyes.

"What is going _on?"_ she snapped angrily. It was her brother, Grasswave. He had a concerned and panicked look on his face, and Hazelfur soon softened her tone. "What's wrong?"

"Your kits…they've gone missing!"

Hazelfur felt a pang of fear in her belly. "Wha…all of them?"

"All eight. Squirrelstar sent out a patrol to look for them. She was wondering if you wanted to go on the next one."

Hazelfur nodded, leapt to her paws, and dashed out of the nursery, Grasswave hard on her heels. Some warriors-Drizzlepelt (the second-best tracker in ThunderClan), Owlfeather, and Mistysong- were standing at the camp entrance, waiting for them. Grasswave and Hazelfur darted to them, and they set off into the forest. The sky was gray and threatening to release the rain it was bearing. The thick air whipped her whiskers back as they headed toward RiverClan territory. "The other patrol went toward ShadowClan," Owlfeather informed her.

Suddenly the head of the patrol, Drizzlepelt, screeched to a stop. "What's the ma-" Hazelfur began, but she immediately knew. The scent of badger flooded her senses. Dread prickled her pelt and she felt as though she couldn't breathe. "Your kits' scents lead this way!" Drizzlepelt gasped, his nose pressed to the ground.

Soon the patrol reached the river. A steady rain had finally been let loose, and droplets splashed into the blue-gray water. Drizzlepelt lifted his muzzle and turned to Hazelfur. "I've lost the scent through the rain."

Hazelfur swallowed, her throat dry. She had lost her kits. Her precious kits, all eight of them, were gone. Somewhere in the forest. She felt tears burn behind her eyes, and Grasswave licked her on the ear.

"We'll keep looking though, right?" Mistysong asked. Drizzlepelt nodded. "Of course. We can't just let Hazelfur suffer like that."

Just as all of Hazelfur's hope was lost, she heard a squeak. "Hey!" she cried. "I hear something!" Mistysong crept toward a bush along the edge of the river, and pushed it away. "Goldenkit! Petalkit!"

Hazelfur raced to the bush and saw the two shivering, soaked kits huddled together in a pile of dead bracken. "Oh, thank StarClan," she breathed as she nuzzled her kits. "Where are the others?"

"They were trying to cross the river into RiverClan territory," Goldenkit squeaked. "But we didn't want to go. Now they're searching for the stepping stones."

"Let's go there," Grasswave meowed.

"I'll take them back to camp," Mistysong offered. She nudged them out of the bracken and back towards the camp. Hazelfur was still tense, even though she knew where her kits would most likely be. "You should probably go with them," Owlfeather suggested. "Petalkit and Goldenkit seemed a little stressed."

Hazelfur nodded and hurried back to camp. She just saw Mistysong pad out of the medicine cat's den. Hazelfur darted over to her. "What's wrong? Are they hurt?"

"No," Mistysong answered. "I just wanted to make sure they didn't catch a cold from the rain. Did they find your other kits?"

"Owlfeather said I should probably just head back here to comfort Petalkit and Goldenkit."

"Oh, they seemed perfectly fine to me."

"Okay." Hazelfur would check on them, just in case.

Hazelfur chatted with them a bit, scolding them for going out of the camp, but praising them for not going with the other six kits. Suddenly Grasswave burst through the entrance of the medicine cat's den. "Hazelfur…your kits…they…they drowned."

"What?" Hazelfur spat. "They drowned?" Tears spilled out of her eyes and she gave a whimper. "StarClan, no…StarClan, no…why?"

Grasswave crouched down beside her and licked her cheek. "I'm so sorry. We found all but Beechkit's body."

Hazelfur sobbed and buried her face in her paws. How would she live with herself? She only had two kits now…

She could only think of one positive thing about this-now, she wouldn't have too much to deal with.

**Oh my God. C-R-A-P-P-Y.**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	11. All That I Have

**I have an idea.**

ALL THAT I HAVE

When I was born, my housefolk gave my mother a collar. It was made out of tiny blue circles, hard and smooth, round and cold. They never took it off of her, and I liked how it looked. Soon by mother died, and the housefolk took it off and gave it to me. I loved it. I began to wander past the fence, into the forest beyond it.

One morning, the sun was shining. I trotted outside, feeling it warm and bathe my pelt. I yawned and leapt onto the fence, and then back down to the other side. I was going to go into forest this time.

"Misty, where are you going?"

A voice above me startled me. It was just Patch, my best friend who lived in the den beside me. "I'm going into the forest, Patch!" I meowed.

"You can't go in there!" Patch's eyes widened. "It's dangerous!"

"I'll only be gone for a little while. Don't freak out." I waved my tail goodbye and raced towards the lush green forest. The ground soon turned to earth under my paws and birdsong erupted. An orange and black butterfly flew past my ears, and I pounced on it, missing it by a mousetail. How could a place so peaceful be dangerous?

I suddenly smelled something strange. It smelled vaguely of cats, and I felt fear prickle my pelt. What if Patch was right? I shook my head. No, these cats, if any, were probably like me-housecats just wandering beyond their fences.

"Hey!"

I felt something bowl into me, and I gave a yelp.

"What are you doing on ThunderClan territory, kittypet?" A cat leaned down to my ear and hissed the menacing words.

"Wh-what's that?" I demanded, trying to push the cat off of me. His claws pricked my chest and I growled.

"Don't act so innocent!" he spat. "There are scent markers for a reason!"

I winced as his teeth poked my throat, and I whimpered, "I…I'm sorry!"

"That's enough, Eaglefeather." A calmer she-cat's voice meowed. The cat, probably named Eaglefeather, stepped off of me, and I finally got a full view of the group of cats. Eaglefeather was a huge pale gray tom with yellow eyes. There were three other cats-a gray tabby she-cat, a brown tabby tom, and a smaller she-cat with ginger fur. She looked about the same age as me.

"What is your name?" the gray tabby she-cat asked gently. I tried to look defiant. "Misty."

"She's a kittypet," the smaller ginger she-cat muttered to the brown tabby. "Why are we wasting our time talking to her?" The brown tabby tom shrugged.

"If you leave the forest, we won't cause you any harm." The gray tabby she-cat's voice was eerily calm, and I bristled. "But I like coming to the forest!"

Eaglefeather flexed his claws, as though wishing he were ripping them down my spine. The gray tabby she-cat eyed me, and I felt heat rising to my face. "I'll fight for my rights to the forest, if I have to." I unsheathed my claws; they were smaller and duller than the other cats'.

"Fight me!" The ginger she-cat unsheathed her own and crouched down. I faced her, preparing to leap.

"No, Sunpaw, she's a kittypet," the gray tabby meowed. "That's enough, all of you. This kittypet is different than the others. She's asking us to fight her." She turned to me. "Say, how old are you?"

"Six moons," I replied. "Can I fight this 'Sunpaw' cat now? I like coming to the forest, and I'll be happy to tear her to shreds for my rights to come."

Suddenly, Sunpaw leapt at me. I moved out of the way and swatted her ear with my paw. She growled and sprang at me again, knocking me to the ground and pinning me down with one paw to my throat. I heaved my back, sending her flying off of me and skidding into the brown tabby tom.

I smiled triumphantly. Sunpaw stood up and began to groom her paw, keeping one of her green eyes on me.

"Amazing!" the gray tabby she-cat meowed. "You fight like the legendary Firestar!"

"Firestar?" I echoed. "Why do you all have such strange names?"

"Because we're Clan cats."

"What is yours?"

"Shadewing." She looked impatient, so I quickly shut my mouth and listened. "How would you like it if we offered you to join ThunderClan?"

"What?" Eaglefeather hissed. He raked his claws along the ground. "We can't let a _kittypet _into the Clan!"

Shadewing ignored him. "So? What do you think?"

"I don't even know what ThunderClan is!" I meowed.

"We can take you there and show you!" the brown tabby tom suggested.

"Great idea, Mudwhisker!" Shadewing praised. "Come with us, if you're considering joining ThunderClan."

"But you can't go to the ThunderClan camp with that _thing_ around your neck!" Eaglefeather spat. I glanced down at my collar. "I have to leave this on!"

"Then you're not Clan cat material." Eaglefeather looked smug.

Sunpaw stared at me curiously. "Why? We can pull it off."

"Because." I remembered all those warm, soft moments lying next to my mother when she was still alive. I remembered reaching up with one forepaw and running it down the green circles. "It's all that I have from my mother."

**This was a pretty long chapter, and it actually wasn't that bad.**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	12. Struck Down

**Ummm…this one is hard. I can't think of anything…Okay, I have an idea, but it's about the Tribe, not the Clans. Also, cats in the Tribe kill for victory, unlike the Clans. Or at least, in this story thing, they do. Onto chapter 12! (Everyone else is already on, like, 35…-sob-)**

STRUCK DOWN

Eagle That Soars Over Mountain burst into the cave. "River! We need you!"

River That Rises During Storm gasped and darted over to Eagle. "What's the matter?" she demanded.

"That group of cats we ran into a few sunrises ago, called The Shadows, are back!"

Anger prickled River's pelt. "_What?_"

Eagle nodded. "We were patrolling the borders, just like normal, when out of nowhere, they attacked us! Sun That Warms The Rocks told me to fetch help."

River turned and called out, "Wind That Ripples Water! Lightning That Strikes The Sky! Mouse That Skitters Into Hole! Feather That Falls From Hawk! Come with me!"

The four cats appeared out of their den and raced after River and Eagle. _Tribe of Endless Hunting, please watch over us, _River silently prayed. _Please let no Tribe cat get injured._

Soon they reached the site of the battle. Cats were everywhere; some were being defeated, some were defeating. Someone bowled into River and she gave a yowl. She quickly battered at the cat's belly with her hind claws until she could see who he was. She recognized him from the first time they'd run into each other-his name was Branch. He was strong and powerful, but River was swifter and cleverer than him. He sprang at her, and she quickly slipped under his belly and dug her claws into his hind leg. He screeched and twisted away from her grip. Then Branch tackled her to the ground.

River remembered the technique her trainer had taught her. She grew limp. Branch loosened his grip, and River imagined his face spread with triumph. When she knew it was time, she flung herself at him, yowling. Startled, he flew to the ground and River pinned him down. River lowered her muzzle and sank her teeth into his throat. He then went limp.

River stepped off of him and swiped her tongue over her teeth, tasting the sharp tang of blood. She gasped when she saw a small ginger to-be lying on the ground, battered and bloody. That was _her_ to-be! "Red Sky During Sunset!" she yowled, dashing over to him. He coughed, his eyes fluttering open slowly. He was alive! But barely.

River grabbed him by the scruff and dragged him to the edge of the clearing. "If you have enough energy, try to lick your wounds clean," she told him, and then plunged back into the battle, only to be knocked off her paws by an enormous dark ginger tom. "You killed Branch!" he screeched, clawing her soft underbelly with thick claws. River yowled in agony, and tried to push him off of her. But he was much too heavy and large. _This must be the leader, Blood!_

"You…will…pay!" he growled into her ear. Darkness filled the edges of River's consciousness. _No…no…he can't kill me…!_ Her mind was screaming. The screeches and hisses around her were blurring together, and darkness covered her vision. Suddenly, the weight was lifted off of her. River gulped in mouthfuls of air. She could hear and see again! Eagle was locked in battle with Blood. It was clear that Blood hadn't been prepared for Eagle's attack. And it was also clear that Eagle was winning. River watched in amazement as Eagle, using all his might, shoved Blood down and quickly sank his fangs into his throat.

"Blood!" A white tom screeched, stopping his fighting with two Tribe to-bes. _"Blood is dead!"_

The rogues in the clearing let out caterwauls and backed away from the Tribe cats. River and Eagle stood there in triumph and watched them flee like mice from a hawk's talons. "I don't think they'll ever bother us again," Eagle meowed, nuzzling his sister. River nodded and licked him on the ear, proud of him.

_The Shadows have been struck down._

**Well, at first, I was planning on making this the other way around-the Tribe being struck down. But I decided that I wanted a happy chapter, and this is one of them. XD I hope you liked!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	13. Last Hope

**I have an idea, for once! It might be crappy, though. **

LAST HOPE

The night I was born, our medicine cat, Splashpool, received a prophecy about my brothers and I: _Left from the fire will be three to save the shadows from overcoming the tree._ My mother named my brothers Sootkit and Ashkit, and she named me Cinderkit. We went to the elders' den often and listened to Blossompetal and Briarclaw's stories about their father's best friend, Firestar. He told us how we were descendants from the great leader, and we were honored.

Soon we became apprentices, and ShadowClan began causing trouble. They stole prey and left the bones on our territory. It was as if they _wanted_ us to know that they were stealing food. Our mentors trained us hard, for they knew there would be a huge battle soon.

Then leaf-bare came. Ashpaw caught greencough. Sootpaw and I visited him as much as we could before he died. Splashpool and Kestrelstar grieved deeply, although I'm not sure why.

A moon after Ashpaw's death, Kestrelstar decided it was time to battle ShadowClan and defeat them once and for all. "We will raid their camp in parties," he meowed. "Birdflight, Petalbreeze, Thornshadow, Applepaw, and Sootpaw will be in the first party. Sageleaf, Quailfeather…"

I zoned out as she listed the cats' names in the second party. Maybe I wasn't going to fight after all! I began to feel lighthearted and hopeful until I heard her say, "The third party will consist of Spottedtail, Mapleleaf, Thrushflight, and Cinderpaw." Despair crushed me. I didn't want to fight! I didn't want Sootpaw to fight! I couldn't loose another brother!

So we headed out into the forest until we reached the ShadowClan border. Kestrelwing turned to her deputy, Petalbreeze. "Remember, just go into the camp yowling. They're more likely to see us if we slowly go in than if we barge in. Go, and StarClan be with you all."

The first party silently slipped off. I waved goodbye to Sootpaw with my tail, and sighed. Maybe a third party wouldn't be needed…

The second party headed off quickly. Mapleleaf turned to me. "Are you okay, Cinderpaw?"

I nodded and realized that I was kneading the ground with my claws and that my fur was sticking straight up. I sat down and began to groom my back. "Yes, I'm just a little anxious."

"Oh, right, this is your first battle," Mapleleaf meowed. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. I remember my first battle. It was exhilarating, actually, to use all the battle moves I'd learned against a cat from a different Clan."

I nodded again and wrapped my tail over my paws. A few heartbeats later Kestrelstar sent us off. The air immediately filled with crowfood and pine scent as we crossed over the border and into ShadowClan territory. Dead pine needles felt springy and soft underpaw, and I imagined what the camp would be like. Would it be covered in pine needles? Would it have a protective wall of gorse surrounding it? We soon reached the camp, and I could hear screeches and yowls. _StarClan help me! _I thought.

Spottedtail gave out a yowl and we charged into the camp. Cats were locked in battle, hissing and scratching, spitting and clawing. Fear swept over me as I spotted an apprentice dashing toward me, his face in an angry snarl. I easily dodged him as he leapt at me, and I pinned him down. I clawed at his underbelly with my hind claws, and he escaped from under me and raced out of the camp. Maybe this wouldn't be as hard as I thought it'd be.

Suddenly, I was knocked over by someone. I gasped and tried to struggle free of the cat's strong grip, but he was too huge. He was a black and white tom with gleaming, furious yellow eyes. "You injured my apprentice!" he hissed. "Now you're going to pay…" He lifted up an enormous paw, bigger than my head, and swung it down. It slashed through my ear and I wailed in pain.

He smacked my head with his paw again, and I felt his claws score down my face. I managed to choke out, "S…sorry…" before my consciousness faded away…

I awoke in the medicine cat's den. Splashpool rushed over to me. "She's awake, Smokeheart!" My mother padded over to me and gave me a gentle lick on my shoulder. I wondered why she didn't lick my forehead, like she usually did, but then I figured out why. My whole face burned like it'd been scorched by fire. "What happened?"

"You were attacked by a senior warrior in the battle with ShadowClan," Smokeheart mewed soothingly.

"Where…where's Sootpaw?" I struggled to keep my vision straight; it blurred Splashpool's tortoiseshell and white fur with my mother's dark gray pelt.

"He…he was…killed. I…I'm so sorry, Cinderpaw." Splashpool's whiskers drooped.

"Sootpaw…died?" I couldn't grasp what this meant. My mind could not put these two words together and have it make sense.

"Yes," Smokeheart replied sadly. "A warrior killed him. Now try to go back to sleep. You need to regain your strength."

I nodded and closed my eyes, feeling exhaustion wash over me as I listened to my mother's soft pawsteps exit the den. Then I heard Splashpool and someone else whispering.

"She's going to die, isn't she?" a deeper voice asked. I recognized the voice of Kestrelstar. Silence.

"She's part of the prophecy, though!" Kestrelstar protested, his tone filled with misery. "StarClan is letting ThunderClan down. Now who will save us? Her brothers were part of the prophecy, but they died. Cinderpaw is our only hope."

I struggled to grasp onto my consciousness, but it slipped away and I fell asleep…and never woke up.

I was ThunderClan's last hope.

**Not that bad, actually.**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	14. Give Up?

**Umm…I have a very vague idea…**

GIVE UP?

"Ready…set…fight!" Robinwing and Featherfall called out in unison. Their apprentices, Gorsepaw and Flowerpaw, leapt onto each other into mock battle. Gorsepaw swiped at her head with a sheathed paw and knocked Flowerpaw over. "Go, Gorsepaw!" Featherfall cried.

Robinwing hoped her little Flowerpaw wouldn't loose again. Every time she was in a mock fight, she lost miserably, especially to Gorsepaw. Robinwing had been training Flowerpaw very hard lately, and hoped some of the moves she'd learned would beat Gorsepaw this time.

"Tuck, Flowerpaw! Now kick his belly!" Robinwing called. Featherfall glared at her. "You can't coach your apprentice during a mock fight."

Flowerpaw's eyes suddenly turned blood red. She flung herself at Gorsepaw and pinned him down, her claws unsheathed and pricking his neck. "Give up?" she hissed into his ear.

"Flowerpaw!" Robinwing shouted.

"Now you know how I feel," Flowerpaw growled. "I have been beaten by you ever since we were kits in the nursery, and I am tired of it! I'm going to beat you now, once and for all!"

Robinwing remembered all those previous mock fights. She remembered Gorsepaw leaning down to her ear and whispering, "Give up?"

Gorsepaw trembled from underneath Flowerpaw's strong grip. She flexed her claws and raised an unsheathed paw. "No!" Robinwing and Featherfall cried out.

Flowerpaw placed her paw back down. "Why not? He deserves it!"

"Are you going to kill me?" Gorsepaw whimpered, but his opponent ignored him.

"You can't hurt him on purpose!" Robinwing meowed desperately.

Flowerpaw's eyes grew wild. "Maybe when I'm finished with him, I'll go for you. If anyone tries to stop me, you'll be the next victim. Now shut up and let me do what I've wanted to do for my whole life!" She turned back to Gorsepaw and swiped her claws along his face. Gorsepaw wailed and his voice faded to a whimper as she pressed her paw harder against his throat. Then she lowered her head and whispered, "Give up?"

Gorsepaw shook his head. "N-never!"

Flowerpaw chucked. "Well, my friend, you've made a wise decision." She sank her teeth into his throat. Featherfall leapt forward and yowled, "No!" Robinwing stepped in front of her, knowing that if she attacked Flowerpaw, she'd kill her too.

Blood bubbled up from Gorsepaw's now open throat as he gasped and choked. Flowerpaw grinned in satisfaction and stepped off of him, her fangs and claws stained with scarlet. The light from Gorsepaw's eyes faded, and Featherfall gave a whimper.

Flowerpaw padded over to him, leaned down beside his ear, and murmured, "Give up?"

**This was a bit rushed, but I wanted to get to here by the end of the day. I'll probably make it to 15 or even 16 by tonight, so…yay. This was really, really short. Sorry! **

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	15. Illusion

**This one will kind of represent Tigerclaw/star and Bluestar, but not quite. **

ILLUSION

"I love you, Specklefur, but not enough…"

Those were the last words Badgerclaw spoke to me.

How could I have trusted Badgerclaw in the first place?

How could I have just kept silent for all those moons while he went around killing innocent cats?

How could I have lied to every cat?

We grew up together. I remember when Badgerclaw, then Badgerpaw, told me something. "Specklepaw, I…I'm not sure, but I…I think I love you."

I reacted the way most she-cats do when told that someone loves them-I purred and licked his ear. "I love you too, Badgerpaw."

Once we were warriors and we had become mates, I immediately decided that I wanted kits. "I want little copies of you bouncing everywhere, saying that they love me just like you do," I meowed, bumping my forehead into his affectionately. He smiled, and I purred.

Soon I was pregnant, and our kits were born. There was a tom and a she-cat. The tom was a tiny copy of Badgerclaw, and the she-cat was like me. We called the tom Patchkit and the she-cat Squirrelkit. Patchkit was quiet, like me, and Squirrelkit was loud and ambitious, like her father.

The kits grew to apprentices, and Badgerclaw began taking them on secret training sessions. I was the only one who knew. One day I asked Squirrelpaw, "What did Badgerclaw teach you today?"

Squirrelpaw's eyes lit up and she responded, "He taught us how to kill!"

All four of us went out hunting one morning. It was green-leaf and the sun was shining brightly on the forest. Prey was popping up everywhere. We ran into a loner who was stealing prey. "Kill him, Patchpaw!" Badgerclaw bellowed. "Remember what I taught you?"

Patchpaw looked shaken. "I…" He shook his head, and Badgerclaw did the killing for him.

"Squirrelpaw." Badgerclaw turned to his daughter. "Kill this fool."

Patchpaw's eyes widened and his fur bristled. I stayed silent, too stunned to speak. What was Badgerclaw doing?

"Squirrelpaw," he repeated. Squirrelpaw slowly crouched down and leapt onto her brother. She pinned him down and sank her claws into his throat.

"Patchpaw!" I wailed. Badgerclaw looked satisfied, and Squirrelpaw looked horrified. She stepped off her brother and crouched beside him. "What have I done…?" she murmured.

Badgerclaw nudged her to her paws. "You did the right thing, Squirrelpaw. We couldn't have let this weak fool be in our Clan, could we?"

Squirrelpaw slowly shook her head and stood up. "I…I guess not…"

I ran away while I could.

I had to tell someone!

But I didn't.

Why didn't I?

I was afraid.

Afraid that he'd kill me next time.

So I tried to kill him myself. It was stupid, I know, but I just had to try. He was keeping guard at the camp entrance one night, and I pounced onto him. "What are you doing, you mousebrain?" he hissed. Badgerclaw grabbed me by the scruff and dragged me into the forest. "You made me do this."

Badgerclaw dropped me onto the ground and raised an unsheathed paw. "No!" I cried. "Please-don't!"

He did.

He swung it at my head and pinned me down easily. Then he sank his teeth into my throat.

"I love you, Specklefur, but not enough." Those words followed me as I made my way to the stars.

How could I have fallen for that illusion?

**Crappy.**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	16. Last Chance

**I can't think of anything…-sob-**

LAST CHANCE

You may know me as Tawnypelt. Others may know me as Brambleclaw's sister. Maybe you think of me as that ShadowClan she-cat who was born and raised in ThunderClan. I am all three. No one really knows why I went to ShadowClan. Most cats think it's because I felt unwanted in ThunderClan. That is only partly true.

"Hi, Thornpaw," I mewed shyly as the handsome golden-brown tabby tom padded into the camp with a mouse and a sparrow in his jaws. "Did you catch those?"

Thornpaw nodded and kept on walking. I followed him. "Do you want to share something?"

He shook his head. "No thanks, Tawnypaw. I ate before I went hunting. Maybe some other time." I was left in despair, but the last sentence gave me a spark of hope.

The next time we spoke, it was a stormy morning. I yawned and turned to him. "I was supposed to go training with Brackenfur today, but I guess not."

Thornpaw twitched his whiskers. "I was supposed to train with Mousefur too." We both chuckled, and it felt nice. I wanted to curl up next to him, but I knew that'd be awkward.

"Thornpaw…" I padded into the apprentices' den one day. It was empty, except for him. "I…I know you don't know me that much, but…I really, really like you."

Thornpaw looked surprised. "T-Tawnypaw, I…I don't know what to say…"

I grimaced. He hated me. I knew it.

"I…I'm sorry, but…I don't like you like that," he finished. "We're friends, but we can never be more than that. I'm sorry."

I felt anger course through me, and leapt onto him. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I pinned him down against his nest. "Tawnypaw!" he hissed. "What're you doing?"

Teardrops dripped from my face. I gave a whimper and fled out of the den, only to crash into Brackenfur. "Tawnypaw! What's wrong?"

I shook my head and blinked my tears away. "N-nothing…are we going out training?"

"We will later, but I want you to get the elders more moss."

I nodded and hurried into the elders' den.

You know the story from there.

But before I left, I visited Thornpaw once more.

"This is your last chance, Thornpaw," I meowed to him, trying to keep my voice steady. "Are you sure you don't like me?"

"I do as a friend, Tawnypaw…" he protested.

I nodded. "I understand. Well, farewell." I turned and padded out of the den, and into the forest, where raindrops began to splatter onto my fur.

That was his last chance.

And he blew it.

His last chance.

**Once again, some serious crap I wrote here.**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	17. Into the Fire

INTO THE FIRE

It was a cold leaf-bare morning. I awoke in my nest, shivering and burning at the same time. "Runningpaw, are you okay?" Bluepaw asked me, her forehead wrinkled in worry.

I nodded and fought back a cough. "I'm fine, Bluepaw. Don't worry about me. I'm just a little bit under the weather, is all."

I went out training with my mentor, Stoneclaw, who seemed to be working me harder than ever. "You need to be strong for leaf-bare," he kept telling me.

"Runningpaw!" Stoneclaw snapped while reviewing the rabbit stalk with me. "Pay attention! Why are you so zoned out today?"

"I'm just feeling a little under the weather," I mumbled.

His face softened. "Do you think you should go and see Ivypelt?"

I shook my head. The last thing I wanted to do was to visit our too-sweet medicine cat! "I'm fine, really, just a little stuffy."

"I think you should go, just in case."

"No, really, I'm okay."

"You're going." Stoneclaw took me back to camp and forced me into the medicine cat's den. "Ivypelt? Runningpaw isn't feeling well."

The smoky black she-cat padded into the den. "Oh, hello. Come here, Runningpaw."

I reluctantly let her give me a little check-up, and she finally declared, "You have whitecough."

I groaned, which led to a coughing fit. Stoneclaw looked a bit disappointed. "Well, I hope you feel better, Runningpaw." I nodded my thanks and sat down in a moss nest beside a sick kit, Rosekit, who was asleep. I curled up and let myself drift to sleep…

When I awoke, it was nighttime. There were no crickets chirping; for it was much too cold. I shivered and curled into a tighter ball. "Runningpaw?" someone whispered beside me. I scented the air. "Bluepaw!"

"I heard you have whitecough." Her voice was filled with sorrow.

"Yeah. Where's Ivypelt?"

"In her den."

"Can you fetch her for me, please?"

Bluepaw rose to her paws and padded into Ivypelt's den. A few moments later the two she-cats returned. "What's the matter, Runningpaw?" She checked my paw pads. "Your fever has gone up."

"I was just wondering if I could have a couple poppy seeds. I keep waking up."

Ivypelt nodded, hurried back into her den, and reappeared. She handed me two tiny black seeds. "This should be enough."

"Thank you." I swallowed them and rested my chin back on my paws. Sleep quickly swept over me.

I dreamed about flames. Yellow and orange flames, licking against trees and eating the bark off of them. They swallowed me whole and burned my pelt, scorching it black. Burning pain seared through my body.

"Runningpaw, can you hear me?"

"…Might have blackcough…"

"His fever is higher than ever…"

"Will he die?"

"Maybe."

The voices became clearer. I opened my eyes and heaved a cough. Ivypelt and Bluepaw hovered over me. "Ivypelt," I rasped. "I…will…am I going to die?"

"That's in the paws of StarClan, Runningpaw," she mewed sadly, but I could tell that her real answer would be, "Yes. I'm sorry, I tried."

The fire grew in my body again. "Goodbye, Bluepaw," I whispered. "Goodbye, Ivypelt. Thank you for all you've done for me…"

And I let myself sink back into the fire…forever.

**Hmm…unique, actually! Pretty corny at the end, but whatever!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	18. Stars

**Hmm…**

STARS

I'd always wondered what it was like to die.

I was just a kit, though, and hopefully, I wouldn't find out soon.

I asked my mother that sometimes, but she said she didn't know because she wasn't dead yet.

Once I heard her and my father talking.

"Yes, Skykit is very…interesting," Mother told him. I frowned. Interesting in a good way or a bad way?

I awoke to screeching and hissing outside of the nursery. Mother was in front of my brothers, Sparrowkit and Rockkit and me. "Stay behind me," she instructed us, and we did.

Suddenly, a large gray cat barged into the nursery and swatted Mother aside. "Mother!" Rockkit wailed. He grabbed Rockkit by the scruff and raced away.

"Rockkit!" Sparrowkit yowled. "Mother, they took-" The gray cat was back again, and snatched up Sparrowkit, too. He dashed out of the nursery. Was he coming for me next? Who was this cat anyway?

There he was. I tried to bat at his face with my claws, but he picked me up and carried me away. He darted away from the camp and finally dropped me in another camp that looked a bit like ours. Sparrowkit and Rockkit were huddled beside me.

"Welcome to ShadowClan, little kits," he meowed. ShadowClan? Why did that sound familiar? I soon found myself in another nursery, just like ours. "Take care of them, Nightsky," he told a black queen with white flecks. She dipped her head and pulled us close.

"You're not Mother," Sparrowkit mewed.

"I am now." The queen gazed at us gently.

"Mother!" I squealed, hoping she would hear me and come get us. "Where's my Mother?"

"She's not here!" Nightsky meowed. "Now shush!"

I kept on going. "Mother! Mother! Where are you?"

Soon the big gray cat came in. "What is going on, Nightsky?"

"This one won't keep quiet," Nightsky growled, flicking me on the head with her tail-tip. The gray cat nodded, snatched me up, and carried me to the center of the camp. He placed one paw on my belly, and I could barely breathe.

"Let…go!" I squeaked, but it was no use. He lowered his head and bit down hard on my throat. Pain seared through my body and I tried to yowl. Suddenly, my vision was black.

So that's what death was like.

I found myself in a hollow with stars all around me, even underneath me. Darkness covered my sight. "Where am I?" I wondered aloud. A gray she-cat with stars in her fur padded over to me. "Greetings, Skykit. You're in StarClan."

"StarClan?" I asked. "I'm dead, aren't I?"

She nodded, her expression sad. "I'm sorry you didn't get to live your life fully. Come with me, little one." She began to leap across the air, and I followed her to the stars.

**Pretty short, but whatever. Poor Skykit. D:**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	19. Only

**Ugh. I'm going to use the cat Sunstar as leader before Bluestar, okay?**

ONLY

If only I'd seen what Tigerstar was doing to ThunderClan…

If I had, cats would still be alive.

If I had, cats would not still be hurting.

Brambleclaw wouldn't have been shunned.

Tawnypelt might not have left ThunderClan.

Brightheart would not have a ravaged face.

I would not be dead.

You all know the story of Tigerstar and his vicious reign over ShadowClan. You know the story of BloodClan; every cat does, even the kits. You know how he brought the dog pack into ThunderClan territory. You know every recorded incident of Tigerstar. But you do not know what happened between he and I.

We grew up together. We were kits in the nursery. Unfortunately, I was a few moons older than him, so I received my apprentice name before him. We chatted at the end of every day, and talked about my apprenticeship. A few moons later he turned six moons old, and earned his apprentice name-Tigerpaw.

A moon into his apprenticeship, I earned my warrior name. Soon, Sunstar only had two lives left. You also know the story from here: I became a queen and gave up my kits to become deputy and save the Clan from total destruction, blah, blah, blah. Tigerpaw, now Tigerclaw, was utterly jealous of my rank in the Clan. He wanted to be leader more than anything else, I knew.

One morning after I'd gone on the moonhigh patrol with Tigerclaw, Redtail, and Willowpaw, Tigerclaw awoke me.

"What is it, Tigerclaw?" I yawned. "I'm tired."

"I know, I know, but I need to ask you something," he murmured.

"What?"

"Well…when you become leader, who will you pick as your deputy?"

This question threw me off. Where did this come from? "Um…I don't know, Tigerclaw."

"Please, tell me when you make up your mind."

Then he let me sleep again.

Sooner or later I decided who it would be. Sunstar died, and I appointed Redtail as my deputy. I made my trip to the Moonstone, received my nine lives, and right when I got back, Tigerclaw greeted me with an unfriendly welcome.

"Why didn't you pick _me?"_ he demanded, following me to my new den.

"Tigerclaw, please," I growled. "Everything's not only about_ you."_

That blew it. He tackled me to the ground and pinned me down with one massive paw to my throat. "Why can't it be, though? _Nothing_ is about me!"

"You haven't been a warrior for as long as Redtail, and I thought he would be the best choice for ThunderClan!" I hissed. "Now get off of me!"

"_I _would be a better choice than _him!"_ he spat, stepping off of me. I was beginning to loose my faith in him, but after that battle with RiverClan when Redtail died, I knew I had to make him deputy. He deserved it.

"I knew you'd come to your senses some day," he murmured to me as he padded by. I bristled. What'd he mean by that?

Then Firepaw came into my life, and the rest is history.

Now I knew I should've never trusted Tigerclaw. I was the one who let him slip through my paws unknowingly to get to what he really wanted-power.

If only I'd seen what would happen to the Clans.

If only…

**Not so bad, actually, but a bit short.**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	20. Uh Oh

**I'm 1/5th of the way to 100!**

UH-OH

"Greetings, Snowfoot."

The black she-cat waved her tail. "Firestorm." They nuzzled each other.

"How have you been?" Firestorm asked. "I've missed you so much."

"I'm pretty good," Snowfoot replied. "And you?"

"Thymestar gave me an apprentice," Firestorm meowed proudly. "Lightpaw. She's really good at tracking. I think she might be the best tracker in RiverClan!"

Snowfoot chuckled. "I wish I had an apprentice of my own. Perhaps one of our kits will be my apprentice!"

"Kits?" The ginger tom looked confused.

"I forgot to tell you." Snowfoot wound herself around Firestorm's body. "I'm expecting your kits."

Firestorm's eyes flew wide. "Really? That's so wonderful, Snowfoot! I just can't wait! But…" His face fell. "What if one of them is ginger, like me? Don't you think your Clan will start to get suspicious?"

"That's why Foxfur and I became 'mates'."

"Snowfoot, that's genius!"

"Why, thank you," she purred. "But…when the kits _are _born, do you think I should tell them who their real father is?"

Firestorm shook his head. "No. They might blurt it out without even knowing it, and then there would be a huge disaster."

Nodding, Snowfoot stood up. "What do you want to do now? Want to race?" She crouched down as if ready to dart forward.

"No!" Firestorm chuckled. "You'll obviously win!"

"Just because I'm from WindClan doesn't mean I'll win!" Snowfoot grinned. "Okay…maybe it does."

Firestorm batted her playfully on the ear. "And besides, it probably wouldn't be good for the little kits in there." He ran his paw across her belly. "Let's think of names we like for them."

"If there's a black one, I want to name it Crowkit," Snowfoot purred. "And a ginger one could be…"

"Squirrelkit?"

Snowfoot shook her head. "What about Blazekit?"

Firestorm smiled. "Crowkit and Blazekit…those are perfect names, Snowfoot, for two toms." Snowfoot nodded.

"Hey!"

A voice startled both of the cats and they gazed around, panicking.

"Who are you, and what are you doing on RiverClan territory?"

_Uh-oh._

**Not bad, not bad! Short, though.**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	21. Dreams

DREAMS

"Hello, there, little kit." A huge black tom prowled toward Dovekit.

"Father?" she gasped. He nodded and swiped his tongue over his lips. "I'm feeling hungry for some kit tonight. What about you?"

Dovekit whimpered. "Father…where are we?"

"Why, we're in the Place of No Stars," he responded. "You've heard of that place, right?"

Dovekit nodded. "Yes, that's where all the bad cats go when they die, right?"

"Right."

"Am I dead? I wasn't a bad cat!" Dovekit squeaked, panicking.

"Of course not." He shook his head. "Do you know what my real name is?"

"No."

"It's Blackfeather. I want you to start calling me that. It's annoying when you call me 'Father'."

Dovekit stared at her father…er, Blackfeather. What was he doing? He wasn't dead! Unless, he died in his sleep…"Are _you_ dead, then?"

"No, but I want you to know something." He crouched down to meet Dovekit's eye level. "I haunt dreams, Dovekit. I give cats nightmares. I'm haunting your dreams right now, right this very heartbeat. Do you want to know something else?"

Dovekit nodded.

"I inflict pain on cats in their dreams," Blackfeather meowed. "Do you know what 'inflict' means?"

"No."

"It means to cause. I cause pain when I haunt cats' nightmares. I've already haunted your brothers, and now, they're dead."

"_What?_ You killed my brothers in their _dreams?"_

Blackfeather nodded, standing back up. "I didn't kill you, because you, Dovekit, are stronger than them. Now, I want you to meet Bone, Blood, and Tigerstar."

Dovekit's eyes widened as three huge cats padded into the clearing. One was a massive black and white tom, a dark ginger tom, and a huge dark tabby tom.

"Hello, Dovekit," the dark tabby tom, Tigerstar, growled.

"What're you gonna do to me?" Dovekit whimpered.

The dark ginger tom grinned. "Nothing much, Dovekit. Just this." He suddenly sprang at her. Dovekit squealed in terror as his claws ripped through her fur. "Stop! Stop! Please, stop!" she sobbed.

"That's enough, Blood," Blackfeather called. Blood stepped off of Dovekit and padded back to the other two cats.

"That's what I did to your brothers," Blackfeather added, "except I didn't have mercy on them."

"Why…why are you doing…this?" Dovekit panted.

Blackfeather stalked toward her. "I never loved your mother, Dovekit. I used her to have strong, powerful kits. But her kits are weak. You're the strongest, but you're not even half as strong as I want you. Now I am angry. That's why I killed your brothers, and am inflicting pain on you."

"So you don't love us?" Dovekit whimpered. "Or Mother?"

Blackfeather shrugged. "No. Not really. Go, Bone."

The big black and white tom leapt onto her, his massive weight crushing Dovekit. He dug his teeth into her tail and swung her to the ground. Dovekit wailed.

"Enough!" Blackfeather called. Bone nodded and backed away as Dovekit struggled to her paws. Blood gushed from her face and tail. "Please, Fa…Blackfeather, please…stop…!"

"Oh, don't worry, Dovekit." Blackfeather grinned. "Tigerstar, here, will make all the pain go away…"

Tigerstar prowled toward her, his huge claws practically bigger and longer than her own tail. "Please…" Dovekit whimpered, cowering beneath his amber stare.

Tigerstar swatted her against the tree, and darkness covered her mind.

"Dovekit! Wake up!"

Dovekit awoke, panting and whimpering. "M-Mother?" she gasped.

Milkfur licked Dovekit all over. "Are you okay?"

Dovekit nodded shakily.

"Your brothers, Dovekit, they…they died."

"No…" Dovekit murmured. Suddenly she realized that she could barely move her mouth. She glanced at her stinging tail. It was encrusted in dried blood and twisted at an odd angle.

"Come with me, Dovekit, and let's get you cleaned up," Milkfur mewed, gently lifting Dovekit up by the scruff and carrying her outside.

Cats gaped at the little kit's appearance. Blackfeather bounded over to them. "What happened?" he gasped.

Dovekit stiffened and glared at him.

"I don't know," Milkfur answered. "She woke up covered in blood, and…her brothers are dead!" Tears coursed down her cheeks.

Blackfeather nuzzled her and licked Dovekit on the head. His yellow eyes glinted, and he winked at her.

He haunted her dreams forever.

**Weird and creepy, I know. Poor Dovekit. : ( **

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	22. Inside My Heart

**Lately I've been writing a lot of chapters about Tigerstar…**

INSIDE MY HEART

Hello, Goldenflower. It's nice to see you again.

What was that? I promise, this will only take a few moments.

The first time I saw you, I knew I loved you.

Your golden pelt and your soft, green eyes just made my heart melt…

I really wasn't using you; I swear…I really loved you.

I still do, don't worry. Hm? Oh…you don't. Well…that's okay.

Sasha has nothing to do with this, okay? We're talking about you and me. Not her. Yes, I still love her, but I loved you first. I don't care if she was a kittypet! I loved her. But not as much as you.

I'm not evil, really. I'm just ambitious. Everyone has dreams. Mine were just…big. Bigger than most cats'. And I wanted mine. I would do anything to make those dreams come true. Even kill.

At least you didn't die because of me. Yes, I know, Tawnypelt left the Clan because of me. That was _her_ choice! And she's turned out fine. I like that little Tigerkit of hers. He reminds me of myself, when I was a kit. Dreaming, aspiring…

Bluestar did _not_ make a mistake appointing me as deputy. I wanted what I wanted, and I got it! But look where I am now. You hate me? Well, that's just mice and moonlight now.

ShadowClan was weak, you know. I was helping them. When I was a kit, they helped me! They saved me from a fox! Don't you remember that? Good. And I promised them that I would help them, and I did! I may kill, but I don't break promises. What was that? I never made that promise to you! Even if I did, I still love you, so I didn't break it.

I know you want me to just leave you alone, but I need to tell you something.

No matter how many cats I kill; no matter how much I love Sasha; no matter how much I wanted to live up to my dreams, I will always love you, and you'll always have a place inside my heart.

**Cheesy! And extremely short. Sorry!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	23. Elite

ELITE

My name is Brookpaw, and I _was_ an apprentice from WindClan. I had a normal life, but soon, a group of powerful rogues came to the forest. They called themselves the Elite. Every cat was afraid of them, including me.

One day I was hunting with my brother, Branchpaw, when they attacked us. "Give us your prey!" a tortoiseshell she-cat screeched. We passed them the rabbits we'd caught and they took us to their camp, which was nestled deep in the forest towards ShadowClan territory.

"What is your name?" the brown tabby tom hissed.

"B-Brookpaw," I stammered, and Branchpaw mumbled his name. The tabby tom hooked his claw into Branchpaw's pelt, and he yowled. "_What?_ I didn't hear you!"

"Branchpaw!" my brother screeched.

"I thought so." The brown tabby paced in front of us. "My name is Mud. This is Tawny." He flicked his tail at the tortoiseshell she-cat who had taken our prey. "You will be working for us for half a moon. If you fail, we kill you. If you do everything we tell you, we will keep you for another half moon. If you pass, you'll become one of us."

That's when my life turned upside-down.

They assigned Branchpaw and I to hunting. We were lucky, because some of the other jobs they had were horrid, such as cleaning out their nests or taking their dung to the small clearing behind the camp.

Branchpaw and I were always early to bring back prey, which was good. A quarter moon passed, and they tortured us even more by clawing us, ripping our pelts, or spraining our paws.

Soon Mud killed Branchpaw out of sheer anger. I witnessed it. Mud was angry because Branchpaw had brought him a magpie and he wanted a mouse, so Tawny held Branchpaw down while Mud sank his fangs into his throat. I was horrified. I thought StarClan had abandoned me, but soon, a miracle happened.

"What have you brought me?" a silver tom named Stone demanded. "This is a robin!"

"Yes, sir, it is." I dipped my head.

"You know I don't like birds!"

"I'm sorry, sir, but there were only birds out today…"

"Mud! Tawny!"

Oh, StarClan…I said a silent prayer.

"This rat brought me a robin, and I hate birds!" Stone hissed. Tawny shook her head. "Oh, Brookpaw. I thought you would become one of us. I'm so disappointed…" She struck out at my head with her forepaw, and I tumbled to the ground.

Mud kept me pinned down, and Stone padded over to me. "Goodbye, Brookpaw," he murmured, and then dug his teeth into my throat. Blood bubbled up from the bite marks, and suddenly the world went black.

"Brookpaw?"

I glanced around to see a tabby tom race over to me. "Branchpaw!"

"Come on," he meowed, flicking his tail for me to follow him. He began leaping lightly up a pathway to the sky. "You'll never be hurt again."

I followed him to the stars.

The Elite will never hurt us again.

**Rushed. Short. Sucky. Stupid.**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	24. Surrender

SURRENDER

Frozenpool had never been content with her life as a ThunderClan warrior, and was willing to give it up without a fight.

Some nights she prayed to StarClan that they'd take her peacefully in her sleep.

"Life is sacred," Frostflower, an elder and Frozenpool's own mother, tells her all the time. "You only get one."

"I know," Frozenpool replied. "I'm glad there's only one."

Frozenpool had her eye on Ashtail for some time now. Finally he padded over to her. "Frozenpool, I need to tell you something."

Her heart fluttered. "What is it?"

"I love you."

Then it nearly stopped pounding. "I love you too, Ashtail."

So they had two beautiful kits: Whitekit and Blackkit, who, like their names and appearances, were total opposites. They grew into apprentices, and trained hard.

That was when Frozenpool started to love life.

The day started out so innocent: taking her new apprentice, Swiftpaw, out training, then going hunting with Ashtail.

"That doesn't look good," Ashtail commented, gazing up at the sky as he scraped the earth over his freshly caught starling.

"No, it doesn't." Frozenpool heard thunder in the distance. "We should probably head back to camp now, before we get rained on."

So the couple quickly gathered all their prey and started back towards camp. They usually hunted pretty far from the ThunderClan camp because they found that there was more prey.

Lightning crackled and rain began to pour down in sheets. "Great StarClan!" Ashtail suddenly cried. Frozenpool spun around to see an enormous fire raging towards them and the camp.

"Run!" Frozenpool and Ashtail darted back to the camp.

"Fire! Fire!" Ashtail called. Cats peered out of their dens and raced outside. "Follow Frozenpool!"

Frozenpool waited until most of the Clan had gathered behind her, and dashed out of the camp and towards WindClan territory where the fire hadn't touched. Suddenly, a flaming tree crashed down on the camp, blocking the entrance.

"No! StarClan, no!" Frozenpool yowled. Her Clan was trapped in the camp, which was about to burst into flames! _I have to go and get help!_ Her mind was screaming, but then the realized, _what help can I get? Everyone in the camp will die anyway. I'll be the only one left out here._

_No! I'm going to save my Clan!_

Frozenpool raced to the thick bramble walls of the camp, trying to think of something. How could she get her Clan safely out of the camp? She pawed her way through the brambles, ignoring the prickly thorns, and rushed to the cats.

"Come this way!" she called, beckoning them to the small hole in the camp wall. The kits went in first, and then the queens. The elders went next, then the apprentices, the leader, and lastly the warriors.

"You did an amazing job, Frozenpool," Ashtail purred as he followed the warriors out. A flaming tree just above the spot where the hole in the camp wall was was beginning to wobble. Just as the last warrior fled out of the camp, it crashed.

"Frozenpool!" Ashtail yowled.

Frozenpool glanced around. There was no way out. She tried to paw her way through another part of the bramble wall, but it was starting to burn. Finally she gave up the life she now loved.

_I surrender._

**Stupid.**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	25. Rejected

**I'm 1/4****th**** of the way there! :D**

REJECTED

Am I being forgotten?

I mean, I do love Spiderleg. I really do. But…what about Cloudtail? He just left me, and now I'm stuck with my second choice. The magpie instead of the juicy rabbit. I thought Cloudtail loved me.

I still love Smoky, too. I remember the days when we'd lay out in front of the horseplace and listen to the wind rustling the leaves and our kits laughing inside. It just filled my heart's content.

Then I met Cloudtail, and I thought I'd never meet a gentler, sweeter cat. The way he gazed at me with those clear-blue eyes just made my heart melt. He was always so patient with me when teaching me how to defend myself, and I used to look forward to every single day I'd spend with him.

How could he fall in love with _Brightheart? _She's caring and loving, but…her face, is…I know, I know. Looks aren't the only things that matter. But still…

If only Brightheart had accepted Cloudtail's love for me. Then Cloudtail and I would be together, right this very heartbeat, purring under the sun and entwining our tails, just like I dreamed about.

Now don't get me wrong-Spiderleg is sweet, too. But he's not affectionate. He's proud and likes to play with the kits, not to cuddle up with me underneath the light of the moon and count the stars. Smoky didn't like to do that much either. He liked to sleep beside me, not cuddle. Cloudtail is different in both those ways. When I did not know that Brightheart was his mate, we used to go to the lake and lay beside it, watching the watery reflection of the moon ripple, and the stars dance up above.

Now I'm watching Whitewing grow up into a beautiful, caring she-cat, and soon have kits of her own with Birchfall. Possibly. Now I wonder what it would've been like for Cloudtail and I to have kits. Would we have only had one, or four? I can't say. But I wish I could know. I wish it were reality, and not just some fantasy.

Cloudtail…I know he loves Brightheart, and I know he loves me. Well, at least I hope he does. But…I feel…I don't know…rejected.

**Woah…super duper short! Sorry about that! I was starting to ramble, and get boring, just like I do when I get writers' block. I just woke up this morning, and nothing but totally boring and random things spilled out of me when I typed this. Sorry!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	26. Thanks for the Memories

**Now, this NEVER happened, and NEVER will. I KNOW Ashfur is dead! Just pretend he isn't okay? Pretend that Hollyleaf didn't die, or kill him. Just use your imagination. It's just something that popped into my head. Okay?**

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES

"Squirrelflight!"

The dark ginger she-cat glanced up from her vole to see gray tom with darker flecks trotting towards her. She swallowed her immediate guilt and mewed, "Hi, Ashfur."

"Do you want to go hunting later?" He smiled. _There's no way he can know,_ Squirrelflight assured herself.

"Um…just you and me?"

"Why not?" Ashfur cocked his head.

"Oh…um, well…okay," Squirrelflight agreed uncomfortably. Ashfur's eyes sparkled. "Great! Can't wait!" He turned and headed toward the fresh-kill pile, greeting Brambleclaw along the way.

_What is up with him?_ Squirrelflight wondered. _He's never this happy. I wonder what he's up to…maybe he's just happy that I agreed to hunt with him. Yeah, that's got to be it._

"Hey, Squirrelflight." Brambleclaw hurried over to her with a blackbird in his jaws. "Can I sit with you?"

"Of course."

Brambleclaw settled down beside her and began to devour his meal. "What did Ashfur want?" Squirrelflight detected a hint of unease in his voice.

"Oh, nothing." The ginger she-cat shrugged. "He just wanted to hunt with me later."

Squirrelflight could've sworn she saw envy flash in her mate's amber eyes, but it went as soon as it came. "Oh. Well, in that case, I might as well join you, hm?" He nudged her with his broad shoulder.

"Well…he wanted to go with just me," Squirrelflight mewed awkwardly.

Brambleclaw's tail-tip twitched. "Oh, well, okay."

"Are you okay?" Squirrelflight panicked. What if her mate was angry with her for agreeing to go?

"Yeah." The dark tabby tom nodded. "I mean, you should be able to go hunting with anyone!"

Squirrelflight batted his ear with her paw. "Of course I can!"

xx

"Look at this rabbit I caught!" Ashfur bounded over to Squirrelflight, a young rabbit dangling from his jaws.

"Wow!" Squirrelflight gaped. "That's probably the fattest rabbit I've ever seen!"

Suddenly Ashfur's expression turned solemn. Squirrelflight took a pawstep back. "W…what?"

"Follow me." Ashfur turned and raced away from their hunting spot. Squirrelflight hurried after him.

They soon arrived at the lake. "What is it, Ashfur?" Squirrelflight asked.

Ashfur didn't respond. Finally he took a pawstep into the lake, then jerked it back out. "Feel how cold the water is!"

Squirrelflight cautiously placed her paw into the shallow water. Icy ripples floated away from where her paw was. "Great StarClan!" she breathed, lifting her paw back out. "I guess it still hasn't warmed up from leaf-bare."

"Nope." Ashfur was staring at her. Squirrelflight turned to him. "What?"

Ashfur sighed. "I'm sorry, Squirrelflight."

"Sorry for wha-" Squirrelflight was cut off. Ashfur tackled her to the ground, splashing in the icy lake, his claws ripping into her ginger fur. Squirrelflight struggled to her keep her head above the water and to push Ashfur off of her. "Ashfur, what are you doing?" she gasped.

"I'm paying you back for what you did to me," he panted. "You broke my heart!"

He pinned her down, her head submerged in the water. Then he sank his claws into her throat. Blood gurgled from the wound, and slowly stained the water a foggy red. He stepped off of her and whispered, "Thanks for the memories, Squirrelflight."

**O.O Wow. Creepy and scary. Once again, I KNOW Ashfur is dead. So don't reply saying, "OMG Ashfur is dead!!!!11!!1one!!11" Because I KNOW!!! This was also pretty short.**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	27. Hero

**Umm…-sweatdrop-**

HERO

"Darkwhisker! Hunting patrol!" Ripplewind called from the camp entrance. Darkwhisker sighed and padded over to them. Petalsong and Lightpool were standing beside him and didn't acknowledge him when he approached. He rolled his eyes. _She-cats,_ he thought bitterly as they raced out of the camp.

Once they reached the river, Darkwhisker sat down along the bank as they headed farther down. A faint shadow darted across the water. Darkwhisker hesitated, and then swiftly swiped his paw, hooking the fish with his claws and finishing it with a bite to its neck. He placed it beside him and waited again.

Fishing was so _boring_.

Sometimes Darkwhisker wished he were in ShadowClan, prowling through the piney forest in the blackest of the night, but he knew he could never grow a taste for frogs and rats. Or maybe WindClan, where he could run as fast as he could after young rabbits, and bringing home tons of them for his whole Clan to be able to eat off of. But Darkwhisker knew rabbits weren't a delicacy to him or RiverClan.

Another shadow, darker this time, shot through the water. A splash echoed his ears, and he pricked them. What was that? Perhaps a very large fish?

Suddenly, a small ginger head popped up to the surface of the water. A kit! But RiverClan didn't have any ginger kits. Darkwhisker, too stunned to move, watched in awe as the head bobbed with the ripples of the water, and sank back under. Another head, ginger and white, appeared and gave a wail.

"WindClan kits!" Lightpool gasped, rushing to Darkwhisker's side. Petalsong and Ripplewind followed and jumped when they saw the tiny kits in the river.

"We have to save them," Darkwhisker meowed to Ripplewind. The RiverClan deputy shook his head. "We can't risk our own lives saving kits from another Clan!"

"It's the warrior code!" Darkwhisker hissed. Ripplewind shrugged. "I know."

Darkwhisker gazed over the river again, drew in a deep breath, and plunged into the icy river. He could hear Petalsong yowl his name, but ignored her as he paddled quickly towards the kits. The ginger and white kit was lying at the bottom of the river. Darkwhisker grabbed it by the scruff and swam to the surface. The kit was weighing him down, but he forced himself to place it at the bank of the river.

"Help me!" A squeal erupted the roaring of the water in Darkwhisker's ears, and he turned and pushed himself toward the ginger kit.

"Darkwhisker!" Petalsong kept yowling his name. Darkwhisker felt his body being pulled under as the kit struggled in his jaws. "Stop moving!" Darkwhisker hissed, paddling to the edge of the river. He dropped it onto the pebbles, and suddenly, his eyesight began to turn black. _I'm dying,_ Darkwhisker thought. He slowly sank to the bottom…

"Darkwhisker…"

"Are you okay?"

"Wake up!"

"Wake up, Darkwhisker!"

"Great StarClan, he's alive!"

Voices awoke Darkwhisker and he blinked open his eyes to see a pale ginger tabby she-cat hovering over him. "Darkwhisker!" she cried, covering his face with licks.

"Petalsong?" he croaked. She nodded. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired."

"You saved those WindClan kits, you know." She motioned to the two tiny kits lying in a moss nest beside him. Darkwhisker yawned and started to move. Dull pain shot up his neck and back, and he groaned. "Don't try to move," Petalsong whispered. "Swiftstream told me to keep you still until she returned from herb-hunting. She said you hit your head very hard on that rock, and she's surprised you lived."

Darkwhisker stared at her for a moment, his vision blurring. Suddenly a bright light appeared from behind her. A lithe dark gray tabby she-cat trotted down from the sky, her fur speckled with stars.

"Sh…Shadepool?" he whispered. Petalsong looked confused from the corner of his eye. "Shadepool?"

"Darkwhisker," Shadepool meowed, nuzzling her son. "It was amazing watching you grow up, but sadly, it is time to go."

"Can't I have a word with Petalsong?" he begged. Shadepool glanced back, as though looking for any other StarClan warriors, and nodded.

"Petalsong," Darkwhisker sighed. "I…I must go."

A tear slipped down her cheek and she rubbed her muzzle against his. "Go with Mother."

"You're a hero," he meowed. "You saved my life, and I'll never forget that."

"No, Darkwhisker. _You're_ the hero. Now go on with Shadepool. I love you."

"I love you too." Then he followed their mother to the stars.

Petalsong sighed as she watched the life slowly drain out of her brother. She'd always remember him…as a hero.

**You weren't expecting Darkwhisker and Petalsong to be siblings, were you? I actually didn't plan it until I was typing the ending. I decided it'd be cool to have a neat twist at the end. Did you like? Hope so!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	28. Lost

**Umm…I can't think of anything! D: **

**Remember Frozenpool and Ashtail from chapter 24, Surrender? Ashtail will make a guest appearance in this chapter! Yay!**

LOST

I loved Frozenpool more than life itself.

We're all greatly mourning and grieving the loss of Frozenpool. When I say "we", I mean all of ThunderClan. Hollystar was so touched by her warrior's loyalty and courage that even she kept vigil for Frozenpool. We did not have a body, though, but we knew her spirit would follow us wherever we went.

Now ThunderClan has no camp.

When the fire ended due to a long rain shower, a few senior warriors went into it to see the damage. Frozenpool's body was never found, and I'm sure it was buried in ashes.

The elders' den was the only thing still suitable for living in. Hollystar felt that we should try and repair the camp, but we knew it'd never be the same as it was before the fire. We did try to restore the ravaged camp, and all that needs fixing now is the warriors' den. We're working on it.

I remember when Frozenpool and I were apprentices. She was always so bitter, so negative. She hated life, and I occasionally heard her whisper a quiet prayer to StarClan at night that they'd take her in her sleep. But that didn't stop me from falling in love with her.

xxxxxx

_I'll tell her today…right after our warrior ceremony, Ashpaw promised himself. I'll tell her._

"_Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey meet beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" the newly named Hollystar yowled. A mixture of excitement and dread burst inside of Ashpaw as he and Frozenpaw padded to the Highrock. "We have two apprentices that are ready to become warriors," Hollystar announced. "This is my first ceremony, so if I get the words wrong, help me out." _

_The crowd of cats chuckled._

"_Ashpaw, Frozenpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Hollystar asked. _

"_I do," Ashpaw replied immediately, followed by Frozenpaw, who muttered so quietly that Ashpaw was surprised Hollystar could hear her._

"_Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior names." Hollystar's green eyes twinkled. "Ashpaw, from this moment, you will be known as Ashtail. StarClan honors your loyalty and perseverance, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."_

_Ashtail licked Hollystar's shoulder respectfully and waited for Frozenpaw's turn, his belly churning with anxiety. _

"_Frozenpaw, from this moment, you will be known as Frozenpool," Hollystar continued. "StarClan honors your courage and fierceness, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."_

_Frozenpool hesitated for a moment, as though she were forgetting what came next, and rasped her tongue quickly over her leader's shoulder. The two newly appointed warriors padded off the Highrock, side by side, as the ThunderClan cats cheered, "Ashtail! Frozenpool! Ashtail! Frozenpool!"_

_Ashtail drew in a deep breath and hurried over to Frozenpool. "Frozenpool, I need to tell you something."_

_Frozenpool stared at him. "What is it?" Her voice was almost a whisper._

"_I love you." There. He said it. The words came out of his mouth. Now what would come out of Frozenpool's?_

"_I love you too."_

xxxxxx

That's how our story went.

Then she had Whitekit and Blackkit. They were such great kits, always helping around the nursery when they could.

They became apprentices quickly, and Frozenpool was back out of the nursery. She seemed…lighter-hearted. Positive. Hollystar, obviously seeing the change of heart, gave her little Swiftpaw to train a few moons after she left the nursery.

That fire ripped apart my whole family, my whole Clan.

We are struggling to pick up the pieces of our old what seemed to be perfect life.

Frozenpool gave her life for her Clan just as she started to love living.

Without her, I am lost.

**Aww. Poor Ashtail! –sob- This was a pretty boring chapter. Sorry.**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	29. I'm Not Like You

**Remember Squirrelpaw and Patchpaw from chapter 15, Illusion? Well, I have a good idea for this chapter that involves them! It's from Patchpaw's POV. :D Enjoy! By the way, this might be reeeeeally short.**

I'M NOT LIKE YOU

Squirrelpaw! How are you doing? Actually, I can tell how you're doing, because I'm watching you from StarClan. You've been feeling guilty, depressed, and angry. Specklefur died, I know. She visits me every day.

I'm not mad at you, Squirrelpaw, I promise. I love you a whole lot. I even love Badgerclaw. No, he does not walk the skies with Mother and me. He lives in the Place of No Stars now. It was a good thing that ShadowClan heard what he'd done, and found him wandering the forest after his exile. Yes, I saw the whole battle! It's true that Badgerclaw killed Yellowstar, but then his deputy clawed Badgerclaw to pieces. Now Branchclaw is Branchstar. I gave him his fifth life because I was, too, killed by something that Badgerclaw caused. It was fantastic, the look on his face.

I forgive you. No, you're not selfish! Just because you gave my life to save your own does not make you weak or selfish in any way! I know you just wanted to save Specklefur, too. She's not mad at you, either. We both love you and miss you tons and tons. I wish she could visit you in your dreams like I can. I already told you, I forgive you.

Specklefur told me that she could see how guilty and sorrowful you feel. I can too. Don't feel guilty, Squirrelpaw. Just because you murdered me doesn't mean I hate you. I still love you and I'm not angry. You were protecting yourself. I understand. I feel guilty too. _Why,_ you ask? Because I'm causing you all this grieving and remorse! It was _not_ your fault; it was Badgerclaw's! He made you kill me! Well, yes, that _was_ your choice, but still…he was threatening you! I would've done just the same! Yes, I would've. I know I would've, if I'd been put in your position.

I was so scared when Dapplestar heard that you'd killed me! I thought she would exile you! Want to know why she didn't? Okay, okay, calm down! I'll tell you! That night I visited her dreams, just like I am in yours now! I told her that Badgerclaw had made you kill me, and apparently she believed me. She told me that she wished she'd have known how dangerous he was. Dapplestar also said that she'd always remember me-not as Patchpaw, but as Patchclaw, for my strength and bravery.

Squirrelpaw…Badgerclaw is behind you!

Oh, Badgerclaw…how are you doing? I'm not acting innocent! Hey, let go of Squirrelpaw! Stop it!

Squirrelpaw, are you okay? Can you hear me? Please be okay! Badgerclaw, you can't hurt her in her dreams! I don't care if I'm not your leader! Stop it!

Why would I hurt her? I know I'm your son and I should do what you tell me, but I'm in StarClan now. You're not the boss of me! And besides, I'm not like you.

**Umm…really short and weird. Sorry.**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	30. Not Impressed

**I'm having a lot of trouble with this one…I absolutely can't think of ANYTHING.**

**Erm…this takes place during Firestar's apprenticeship.**

NOT IMPRESSED

"Hey! Hey, Sandpaw!"

Groaning, Sandpaw turned to see Dustpaw galloping towards her with a plump sparrow in his jaws. "Look at what I caught! Isn't it the fattest sparrow you've ever seen?"

Dustpaw had been doing this to her for a while now, and Sandpaw always tried to be nice and say something like: "Wow, Dustpaw, you're a great hunter." She didn't want to hurt the desperate tom's feelings.

"Yeah, Dustpaw." Sandpaw was getting annoyed with what he'd been doing for the past two moons of their apprenticeship.

"So, guess who the lucky cats who get to eat it are?" Dustpaw's amber eyes shone.

"Who?" Sandpaw flicked her tail. It was obvious that she would share it with him.

"You and I!"

"Great!" Sandpaw tried to sound half as excited as him. Dustpaw plopped himself down right beside her and began wolfing down the sparrow.

Sandpaw gazed over the clearing. Graypaw and Firepaw were sitting beneath the shade of an oak tree that hung over the ThunderClan camp, sharing tongues. Firepaw's flame-colored pelt was dappled with sunlight. Sandpaw secretly wished she could share a plump piece of prey with _him._

"Sandpaw, are you listening?" Dustpaw's voice snapped her out of her daydreaming.

"Hm? Oh, yeah," Sandpaw replied sheepishly.

Dustpaw was obviously convinced, and finished the story he'd been rambling about. "Isn't that just so cool?"

Sandpaw nodded, not really understanding what he'd been telling her. "Yeah!"

"Sandpaw!"

Her heart leapt when she saw Firepaw padding over to her. "What do you want, _kittypet?"_ Dustpaw sneered. Sandpaw turned on her taunting mode. She couldn't show that she had the slightest feelings for Firepaw.

"Er…" Firepaw shuffled his paws, obviously uncomfortable around Dustpaw. The two did not click at all. "Whitestorm wants to take us training."

Sandpaw jumped to her paws, struggling to veil her bliss. "Great," she meowed sarcastically.

"See ya, Sandpaw," Dustpaw muttered.

"Bye." Sandpaw followed Firepaw to the camp entrance, where Whitestorm, her mentor, was waiting for them. Bluestar and Whitestorm were both Firepaw's mentor. The three raced through the forest and soon approached the training hollow.

"Instead of training," Whitestorm meowed, pacing in front of the two young cats, "how about we have a pop quiz?"

Sandpaw groaned.

"Now…Sandpaw, you must have silent pawsteps when stalking what prey?" Whitestorm inquired.

"Rabbits."

"Very good. And Firepaw, you must have light pawsteps when stalking what prey?"

Firepaw didn't even have to think. "Mice."

"Correct."

Firepaw smiled, and Sandpaw's heart melted. He was so…_handsome! _She wondered if he felt the same way about her. _Probably not,_ she thought. _I've been nothing but cruel to him ever since he came to ThunderClan. He hates me._

"Sandpaw!"

Sandpaw jumped, startled by Whitestorm's bellowing voice. "Sorry…what?"

"Pay attention!"

xxxxxx

"Hey, Sandpaw, look at this enormous finch!" Dustpaw pranced over to Sandpaw, who was grooming herself in a patch of shade. A finch dangled from his jaws.

"Dustpaw…" Sandpaw sighed as he approached her. "I…I need you to know that…"

Dustpaw stared at her, his eyes wide, as though he were hoping she'd say something like: "I love you."

Sandpaw glanced towards Firepaw, who was devouring a mouse. She swallowed. "Of all the big pieces of fresh-kill you bring me, and all the stories you tell me…I'm not impressed."

**Um…the story didn't really fit in with the phrase that well, but I tried. I had a lot of difficulties with this chapter and procrastinated. I'm going to be away from this Friday to next Saturday, so…yeah. Don't be mad if I don't update until 2057.**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	31. Chosen One

**Mua-ha-ha-ha-ha…more Ravenkit/Spottedwing (his mother) fluff! I KNOW fluff is romance, but I think of it more as love, either in a mate way or an affectionate family kind of way. If you don't remember, Ravenkit and Spottedwing are from chapter 4, Sunrise. I never really said what his mother's name was, but I finally settled on Spottedwing. So enjoy!**

CHOSEN ONE

It's been a moon since my kits became apprentices. Splashpaw was under the mentoring of a senior warrior, Birchclaw. Hazelwing is mentoring Smokepaw. And Ravenpaw…

Eaglestar, WindClan's leader, and Goldstreak, the medicine cat, discussed what to do with him. Goldstreak already had an apprentice-Pinepaw- so she couldn't take on the blind tom.

So finally Eaglestar decided what to do with him. _I_ would be his mentor.

"Mother…I mean, Spottedwing!" Ravenpaw bounded over to me, his head low so he could scent the ground to find his way towards me. Once he did, he rubbed his muzzle against my flank. "Morning!" The sun was just creeping into the sky.

"Good morning, Ravenpaw," I mewed. "We're hunting today. Today is your assessment."

Ravenpaw gasped. "Assessment? Already? I'm not ready!"

"Sure you are," I assured him. "Every moon, the apprentices have a hunting assessment. Three apprentices go at one time, and on the first moon, you must bring back three pieces of fresh-kill. Each moon gets harder and you're required to catch more prey. You'll do just fine, Ravenpaw. And you will only have to catch two pieces today, since…" My voice trailed away. He knew what I wanted to say, though.

Ravenpaw nodded. "I understand. That's a good thing, though, right? That I don't have to catch so much prey?"

"I guess. Come on, let's go." I bounded out of the camp, the sand skidding beneath my paws. He followed hard on my heels until we reached the training area. All three of my kits were being assessed today; I could see them sitting with their mentors, waiting for us.

"Hello, Spottedwing, Ravenpaw," Birchclaw greeted. Splashpaw and Smokepaw waved their tails.

"Hello," I meowed, dipping my head. "Sorry I'm late."

Hazelwing muttered something, and my ears flicked in annoyance. She always had something rude to say, but she didn't always say it so every cat could hear it.

"Splashpaw, Ravenpaw, Smokepaw," Birchclaw began, turning to the three young cats. "You have until sunhigh to catch at least three pieces of fresh-kill.

"That'll be too easy for Smokepaw," Hazelwing interrupted. "He is an excellent hunter. I want him to catch five."

Birchclaw looked as though he wanted to say something to her, but closed his mouth and nodded shortly. Smokepaw looked nervous and uncomfortable, and his tail-tip twitched. I was ready to pounce on that mousebrained she-cat. Why had Hazelwing done that? Sure, three pieces wasn't much, but it was just barely their first moon of apprenticeship. We'd been teaching them more fighting techniques, since tension had been high with ShadowClan, than hunting.

"So Splashpaw will catch three, Ravenpaw will catch two, and Smokepaw will catch five," Birchclaw listed. He nodded. "Go on, now. Remember, you have until sunhigh, so choose your time wisely."

The three apprentices turned and darted off.

After a few heartbeats, us mentors took off after them, but slowly so that they would not notice us. That was what mentors had to do during hunting assessments.

It was easy to find Ravenpaw; he was sniffing at the base of a bramble bush. The scent of rabbit hung thickly in the air. I saw it crouched behind the bush, preening its mottled brown fur.

_You can do it, Ravenpaw!_ My mind was screaming as he stalked around the brambles. The rabbit was facing the opposite way, and I could see Ravenpaw's unsheathed claws flexing. _Go, now!_

Ravenpaw pounced, landing squarely on the rabbit. It gave a squeal, but it was cut short by its hunter sinking his fangs into its throat.

_Great catch!_ I thought, smiling proudly. I backed away as he buried his prey into the sand.

Suddenly another scent hit my senses. It smelled icy and clean, like flowers sparkling with morning dew. The sky grew bright and a silhouette of a cat trotted down to the ground. Ravenpaw's eyes suddenly turned dark blue, and he gazed at the starry cat in awe. Her fur was ginger and white and her eyes shimmered the color of the sky.

_StarClan? Is Ravenpaw dying? Please, no, he's much too young!_

"Ravenpaw," the starry she-cat murmured, rubbing her muzzle against his. He smiled, his whiskers twitching in surprise. "Lilypetal! What are you doing here? I'm having a hunting assessment right now!"

_Lilypetal? Ravenpaw already knows this StarClan cat?_

"I must tell you something." Lilypetal's tail-tip twitched with anxiety. "You will be the strongest cat the Clans have ever seen and you will face many journeys and obstacles. I now grant you with two extra lives so that you may fulfill the prophecy that I have given your leader." She rested her chin on Ravenpaw's head and bursts of light surged around them. When Lilypetal drew back, looking satisfied, Ravenpaw was crouching down, trembling, and his eyes squeezed shut.

"There," she meowed. "StarClan has selected you, Ravenpaw, as the Chosen One."

**Weird, rambling, and boring.**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	32. It's All a Game

IT'S ALL A GAME

"The way he looks at me just makes my heart melt," Applepaw went on, sighing and gazing off into the distance, as though she were seeing her love's face in the orangey-pink dusk sky.

"You remember what happened to Sunpaw and Minnowpaw, right?" Stonepaw asked nervously, gnawing on his vole.

"I _know,_ Stonepaw," the tortoiseshell she-cat growled. "Their deaths had nothing to do with Sootpaw! Would you give it a _rest_ already? Or…are you _jealous?"_

"Puh-_lease, _Applepaw, I'm your _brother,_" Stonepaw muttered. "Why would I be jealous of him? It's not like I can really fall in love with you."

"Maybe you feel like he's hogging me!" Applepaw scoffed. Stonepaw batted her on the ear with a sheathed paw. "I do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do _not!" _

"Do _too!"_

"Do-"

"'Do not' what?"

A voice broke off the siblings' debating. Applepaw gasped, and breathed, "Hi, Sootpaw…"

Stonepaw rolled his eyes.

The smoky black tom turned to the tortoiseshell apprentice. "Applepaw, would you like to go hunting with me?"

Applepaw nearly stopped breathing. "O-of course!" She bounced to her paws and followed him out of the camp.

"I find that it's more productive to hunt over by the gorge," Sootpaw meowed. Applepaw nodded and quickly agreed, "Yeah, me too. I always catch the most there."

"I smell mouse." Sootpaw tasted the air and crept towards the gorge. A bush near the edge rustled, and Applepaw could just see the brown fur of the mouse. Sootpaw pounced and swiftly took the mouse's life.

"Great catch!" Applepaw chirped as Sootpaw scraped the earth over his prey.

"Hey, Applepaw, come here." Sootpaw padded over to the edge of the gorge and gazed up. The clouds were glazed with pink and the stars were just beginning to sprinkle the sky. Applepaw sat down beside him and rested her head on his strong shoulder. Sootpaw purred and licked her ear.

"Dusk sure is beautiful over the gorge," Applepaw commented. Sootpaw flicked his tail to the rushing waters below. "Look at the river! If you look really hard, you can see the reflection in it."

Applepaw squinted her eyes at the water. After a few heartbeats she meowed, "I don't see them."

Sootpaw grinned, his amber eyes glittering. "Keep looking. Hey, remember Minnowpaw and Sunpaw?"

Applepaw, startled that he'd ask this question, nodded slowly. "Yeah…they were my best friends."

"They loved me."

"I know…you loved them too, right?"

Sootpaw didn't answer. "Do you love me, Applepaw?"

She drew in a deep breath and meowed, "Yes. Do you love me, like you loved Sunpaw and Minnowpaw?"

"I never did, Applepaw."

Applepaw glanced up at him, her eyes glazed with confusion. "What?"

"And I don't love you."

"You…you don't?" Applepaw stared at the river again, and Sootpaw could see tears drip from her face.

"No. It's all a game, Applepaw. A game of pretending to love, and then killing." Sootpaw rose up on his hind legs and shoved Applepaw with his forepaws. The tortoiseshell she-cat teetered, lost her balance, and plunged into the gorge. Sootpaw grinned and sat back down, licking his lips. "It's all a game."

**Ooo. O.O Creepy and twisted! Sootpaw has got some serious issues, yo. At least this was accurate, unlike the past few chapters I've been writing. I'm trying to update a lot today to make up for what I'll be missing next week. Hope you liked!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	33. No Way Back

**Er…I'm back from Florida! This one will be hard. ._.**

NO WAY BACK

"Greetings, Crowflight. I've been waiting for you."

I gazed across the shadows, searching for the cat whose voice that belonged to. Dark blue eyes suddenly blinked from the darkness, and a black-and-gray tabby tom prowled toward me. My heart nearly leapt into my throat, and I struggled to stay calm.

"Wh…who are you?" I stammered.

"My name is Darkstripe." The striped tom sat down and curled his tail over his paws. "I'm one of your ancestors."

"Where am I? What am I doing here?"

"You're in the Place of No Stars, Crowflight."

"Am I dead?"

"_No._ Now listen," Darkstripe growled. "You've been feeling let down by your Clan, yes?"

I gasped. How did he know what I'd been feeling? "Y…yes."

"You've been feeling that…they are not as strong as you want them to be. Too many half-Clans, kittypets, and loners, correct?"

I nodded; dread prickling the fur on my spine.

"Kill them." The two words whispered out of Darkstripe's lips easily and coolly.

"Wh…what?" Now the dread was trickling up my throat like bile. "Kill them? My Clan? I can't kill them!"

"And why not?" Darkstripe took a pawstep towards me, and I took one backwards. "Because…it's against the warrior code!"

Darkstripe sat back down. "Hm. You're not as strong as I thought you were. Just as weak and spineless as the other ThunderClanners." He stood, turned around, and began to pad back into the shadows.

I thought quickly, hating those words that came out of his mouth. Hating that he was calling _me_ those words. Anger and boldness now raged through me.

"W…wait! I'm not weak, or spineless!" I called. "Come back…and show me what to do. Please!"

Darkstripe glanced back at me, his lips in a grin, and he stalked back to me. "You want to know what to do? I'll tell you…"

"Crowflight, wake up, you lazy furball!"

I jolted awake. Sunlight poured into my eyes, causing me to squint. My sister, Willowheart, towered over me. "You sleep like a rock, you know that? Come on; dawn patrol."

I groaned inwardly as I rose to my paws and followed her into the clearing. I instinctively headed for the fresh-kill pile.

"No time to eat." Willowheart stepped in front of me, her dark green eyes blazing. "Come on." She flicked her tail as she trotted to the camp entrance, where Rootclaw, ThunderClan's most respected senior warrior, and his apprentice Minnowpaw, stood waiting. When they saw us approaching, Rootclaw nodded and dashed into the forest.

xxxxxx

"Let's stop and get a drink of water," Rootclaw sighed, padding over to a pool of water. The other three cats took sips and sat down, resting. The green-leaf sun blazed down on my back as I waited for them to finish drinking so I could go. I took a few pawsteps towards it, lowered my muzzle, and opened my mouth when suddenly a black and gray head appeared.

"Kill them, Crowflight." Darkstripe. I gasped and gave a startled yowl, stumbling backwards, crashing into Minnowpaw.

"Hey!" Minnowpaw squealed, shoving me away from her. "What was that for?"

"What's wrong, Crowflight?" Willowheart demanded.

"A…a face was in the w-water…" I stammered. I could feel my smoky black fur sticking straight in the air.

Willowheart glanced into the pool. "I…I don't see anything, Crowflight."

"The heat is probably getting to his head," Rootclaw murmured to my sister. "Take him back to camp and send another warrior to take his place."

Willowheart nodded and draped her tail over my back. "Come on."

xxxxxx

It was time.

It was ready.

I quickly rubbed the sticks together. Sparks bounced up from them until a few flames sprouted. I snatched up the large leaf and waved it at the fire, which grew and grew until it was taller than me. Smoke filled the thick, hot air as flames leapt from the sticks. Then I darted away and watched the camp and every cat in it burn to pieces.

Now I regret that choice. I wish I'd let them live. Every cat has frustrations in their Clan, but I let them get to be. I know now that there's no way back.

**Weird and crappy and rushed. Sorry!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	34. Exile

**Hmm…-evil grin-**

EXILE

"The black she-cat can be Ravenkit, and the pale gray tabby tom can be Hawkkit." Brookstripe gave each tiny kit a lick between the ears and rested her head at Swiftfoot's paws. He purred and nuzzled her.

"Swiftfoot? Where are you?"

A voice startled both cats, and Brookstripe gasped, her gray tabby fur bristling. "Swiftfoot…it's your Clanmates!"

The black tom nodded. "Run, Brookstripe! Go back to RiverClan! Hurry! Before they see you!"

"But…the…the kits!" Brookstripe gazed longingly at the two small kits that lay at the curve of her slender belly.

"I'll take care of them." Swiftfoot's amber eyes sank into hers, and she knew he was telling the truth. "They'll come live with me, in WindClan."

Brookstripe's eyes filled with tears as she turned and bounded away from the river. She crouched behind a convenient bush and peeked through the leaves.

Three cats, two of which Brookstripe recognized as Goldenwing and Bouncepaw, approached the river. "Swiftfoot!" a dark gray tom yowled. "What are you doing in RiverClan territory? And why do you have these kits beside you?"

Brookstripe's belly clenched as Swiftfoot carried Hawkkit across the stepping stones, then went back for Ravenkit.

When both kits were safely across the river in WindClan territory, the dark gray tom demanded, "Whose kits are these?"

Swiftfoot hesitated, and Brookstripe held her breath; her mind whirred with fear and wonder of what he'd respond. What would they say when they found out that their medicine cat had kits?

"They…they're mine, Smokefang," Swiftfoot sighed.

All three of his Clanmates gasped. "They're yours?" Smokefang looked as though he were struggling to stay calm. "Who is the mother?"

"I…I can't say." Swiftfoot glanced at his paws, his whiskers drooping.

_StarClan, no,_ Brookstripe prayed silently. _He's going to get in a whole lot of trouble all because of me. Please, don't let them do anything too harsh, StarClan. If you punish any cat, punish me…please!_

xxxxxx

"Swiftfoot." Skystar's expression was grave and grim. "Smokefang has told me that you were found on RiverClan territory with two kits, whom you claim to belong to you. Is this correct?"

Swiftfoot nodded, his heart aching for Brookstripe already. Had she gotten to camp safely? Was she in trouble, just like he was?

"I'm sure that you're aware that it is against the warrior code for medicine cats to have kits," Skystar meowed. "And since you were on RiverClan territory, I must assume that your mate was from RiverClan."

Swiftfoot stared at his paws, dreading what his leader would say next.

"I must talk to Fogpelt about your punishment." Skystar flicked her tail, dismissing herself into her den. Swiftfoot didn't move from his stand to the side of Skystar's den. Fogpelt padded after her, scarcely acknowledging Swiftfoot's presence.

After a few tense heartbeats, Skystar and Fogpelt returned, flicking their tails for Swiftfoot to follow them. He swallowed hard and leapt onto the Tallrock after Skystar.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey meet beneath the Tallrock for a Clan meeting!" Skystar yowled. Cats slowly crept from their napping places and crawled towards the clearing.

"Swiftfoot was found on RiverClan territory with two kits that he claimed to be his," the white leader went on. "I can only assume that his mate was a RiverClan she-cat, so that means he has broken the warrior code in two ways. Fogpelt and I have agreed on an appropriate punishment."

The WindClan cats below the Tallrock murmured in anxiety and wonder. Swiftfoot tried not to look directly at them, for they were most likely shooting him nasty glares.

Skystar drew in a deep breath before finishing with one final word: "Exile."

**I **_**know**_** exile is not an appropriate punishment for a medicine cat, but let's just pretend that Skystar is an unreasonable leader, and that Swiftfoot has an apprentice that already has his or her full medicine cat name, and can take his place. Okay? Okay!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	35. Well Enough Alone

**Oh, crap…I've not a single clue what to do with this chapter…**

WELL ENOUGH ALONE

"What's that smell?" Feathersong halted and scented the air, her petite pink nose twitching. Pebblepaw touched his muzzle to the ground and inhaled deeply. Feathersong turned to Whitefoot and Tigerstripe, the other young warriors on the dawn patrol. "Pebblepaw and I will follow the scent towards RiverClan territory. You two, follow it towards ThunderClan."

Tigerstripe and Whitefoot dipped their heads and bounded off.

"Stop!" Tigerstripe hissed, crouching down low. "I lost it."

_No, you haven't,_ Whitefoot thought. _I can still smell it. Maybe it's a fox! I want to be the first to know about a fox on ShadowClan territory! Then I'll definitely be a more respected warrior!_

"Well then, maybe we should hunt, since leaf-bare is on its way," Whitefoot suggested. Tigerstripe nodded. "Yeah. And if we pick up the scent again, we'll track it."

Whitefoot lowered her muzzle and breathed in. Sure enough, the scent led right towards ThunderClan. "I'll be over here!" Whitefoot called to Tigerstripe, and dashed away.

The scent was of cat.

Of a loner.

Or a rogue.

Whitefoot trailed the scent to the abandoned Twoleg den that sat beside the stream that marked ShadowClan's territory. She crept inside, the scent flooding her senses.

A shuffling noise startled her. "H…hello?" Whitefoot whispered.

"Hello."

A blue-gray tom appeared from the darkness. "Who are you?"

"The question is, who are _you?"_ Whitefoot demanded. "And what are you doing on ShadowClan territory?"

"My name is Pond." The blue-gray tom continued to have a calm, cool expression on his face. Whitefoot tried to be half as cool as he was being, but she couldn't help but laugh. _"Pond?"_

"My mother named me that before she died," Pond mewed, his voice or expression not altering.

"Oh." Whitefoot immediately felt sorry that she'd said that to him. "So…are you all alone in here? I mean, it's my job to drive out loners from the territory, and…"

"Yes, I am all alone, and I have been for my entire life." Pond's voice was edged with sorrow.

"Don't you get lonely?" Whitefoot asked curiously.

Pond shrugged and sat down, curling his tail over his paws. "I'm used to it, by now."

"Have you always lived here?"

"No. I traveled from very far away. I like it here, though. There is much more prey."

"Oh…" Whitefoot didn't want to chase him out. "Okay, I won't drive you out of the territory, but you _have_ to stay _here_ and not go out of this den! I'll hunt for you…if that's okay."

Pond smiled. "Sure. I like it here. That's very kind of you. Say, what is your name, anyway?"

Whitefoot grinned back. "Whitefoot."

"Pond, I'm back!" Whitefoot placed the starling and rat at her paws. "Pond?"

The blue-gray tom came bounding out from the darkness, just like he'd done for the past two moons after he'd met Whitefoot.

"Yum!" Pond purred. "I love starling." He wolfed it down in a few bites and swiped his tongue over his mouth.

"If you eat that fast, you're going to get fat and lazy!" Whitefoot joked. Pond batted her over the ear. "Hey!"

"I didn't say you _were_ fat and lazy!"

Pond chuckled.

"Hey! Whitefoot!"

Whitefoot gasped and spun around. Feathersong and her brother, Jaywing, were dashing toward her. "Hide!" Whitefoot hissed to Pond, but it was too late.

"You caught the loner!" Jaywing meowed. "Kill him!"

"Kill him?" Whitefoot murmured. She turned to Pond, whose fur lay flat on his back but his eyes were wide as the full moon.

"Hurry!" Feathersong hissed. "Before he gets away!"

Hating herself for this, Whitefoot tackled Pond to the ground, her claws ripping into his shoulders. Pond gave a loud yowl and struggled from underneath her. He obviously didn't have any fighting experience.

Finally, after tussling for a while, Pond squirmed out from underneath Whitefoot and dashed away.

"Great job, Whitefoot!" Feathersong congratulated her, smiling widely. Whitefoot tried to smile half as big as the longhaired gray she-cat was smiling, but her heart was sinking.

"Pond?" Whitefoot called, dropping the starling onto the hard ground of the abandoned Twoleg den. It had been four sunrises since she'd had to attack her friend, and she was feeling terribly guilty and lonely.

She noticed a patch of blue-gray fur scurrying away from the den. Pond. Whitefoot snatched up the starling and raced after him. "Pond!"

"Pond." Whitefoot halted and stared at Pond, panting, as he stopped and turned around. "I'm sorry, Pond…I…they're my Clanmates! I can't let my loyalty to my Clan falter because of my friendship with a loner. We can still be friends, but what I'm trying to say is…I…I'm sick of Clan life, Pond."

Pond's ears pricked, but he stayed silent as he listened to Whitefoot.

"I…I'm tired of all the rules that you can't be friends with another Clan cat because you might run into them in battle, or that we can't be friends with loners…I…I love you…and I want to live with you…and travel with you…and have kits with you." All her feelings just bubbled out of her.

"Whitefoot…" Pond sighed. "I…I'm well enough alone."

He turned and padded away.

**Weird ending…rushed ending…and unique at the same time. Poor Whitefoot and Pond! Hopefully there will come a chapter where I can continue writing about them. This was really long. ._. Oh well!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	36. Disappear

**This one is HARD. D: Not really. My mind is just not working at the moment. Sorry if this turns out crappy. **

DISAPPEAR

"Cloverleaf! Raincloud! Rockfall! Rabbitfoot!" The Clan cheered our names as we padded down from the Tallrock, our heads and tails head high with pride. We'd just become warriors! Finally! After six moons of hard training, even Pinestar agreed that it was _way_ past time we were named warriors.

"Congratulations, Cloverleaf!"

My younger sister and best friend, Mistypaw, bounded over to me and covered my face with licks. I smiled and purred, "Thanks, Mistypaw. I am _so_ not looking forward to sitting a whole night of silent vigil."

Mistypaw's face was spread with sympathy. "Heh, yeah. That will really stink."

"Well, I'm off." I noticed that my brothers and sister were following Pinestar into his den. I turned and darted after them.

"Here are the rules of the silent vigil," Pinestar began. "You must remain silent for the entire night until dawn when Nightfoot says you can speak. You must remain in the same spot we place you. You cannot sleep, eat, or drink. You must be alert at all times. Understand?"

Us four newly named warriors nodded.

"Good," Pinestar meowed. "You will begin at dusk."

xxxxxx

Nightfoot, the Clan deputy showed us exactly where to stand. I sat at the very edge of the camp entrance, next to Rockfall. He looked a bit annoyed, as if he would rather be eating crowfood than be bossed around and snapped at by Nightfoot.

"Your silent vigil starts now," Nightfoot meowed, dipping his head. "Good luck." He turned and padded into the warriors' den for the night. The moon soon appeared in the black sky; a milky white crescent bulging from the darkness.

Rabbitfoot yawned continuously, causing us other cats to yawn as well. What seemed like days but was really only a while later, it was moonhigh. We were all yawning now. I was struggling to stay awake, and found myself drifting into a half-sleep, and then jolting into consciousness.

Suddenly, I heard pawsteps in the undergrowth. I pricked my ears and tasted the air. Loner! I bristled my light brown tabby fur, hoping to look menacing, as the cat approached the camp. The cat soon came into full view: a pretty golden-brown tabby she-cat with bright amber eyes.

Raincloud darted forward. "Moth!" he whispered, nuzzling her. I could hear both of them purring. I didn't want to break the silent vigil, so I stayed quiet, but shot him a look that said: _You know this piece of crowfood? _

Raincloud must've gotten the message, for he turned around and gazed at us. "This is Moth," he murmured. "My…mate."

Rabbitfoot's jaw dropped, and Rockfall's dark gray fur bristled. I felt my eyes fly wide open and my fur stick straight up.

"I know you all are probably shocked," Raincloud continued. "I found her on a hunting patrol and attacked her. Then we started talking, and the whole thing went uphill from there. You see, I planned this whole thing perfectly. A few sunrises ago, I met with her and told her to come tonight at moonhigh. She agreed, and now I must go."

"Go where?" Rabbitfoot obviously didn't care about breaking the vigil.

"With Moth, of course, to live with her." Raincloud smiled.

"You can't live with a loner!" Rockfall spat. "You just became a warrior! And besides, aren't you a loyal RiverClan cat?"

Raincloud sighed. "Yes, I am, but I…I love Moth much, much more than you can imagine." He rubbed his cheek against Moth's, who closed her eyes and purred.

"Don't leave." Rockfall's eyes were desperate, and I could see how much he loved his brother. "Don't…we need you. The Clan needs you. Don't you care about us…and the Clan…at all?"

"Of course I do!" Raincloud looked a bit shocked. "I've already decided to go with Moth. So farewell."

He and Moth turned, and I watched them disappear.

**Aww! I have a soft spot for Rockfall, for some reason! He's all tough, but inside he really cares about his brother! He seems a bit like Dustpelt or Ashfur in a way, which are two cats that I adore. This was a pretty short chapter. ^^; Oh well! Hope you liked!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	37. One Step Closer

**I'm catching up to you, Gingerstar and Amberleaf (and Brackenfurlover, but she's not in the competition anymore, so…yeah)!!!**

**I think my brain is dying…I've absolutely **_**no**_** idea what to do for this one.**

ONE STEP CLOSER

"I want them dead!" were the last of Hawkfrost's words I heard before I woke. Sunlight streamed into the nursery, and I blinked open my eyes. I was lying between my three siblings: Sagekit, Lilykit, and Sunkit, and my mother, Lightfeather.

"Good morning, Dewkit," Lightfeather mewed, licking me between my ears and rising to her paws. I forced a purr. "Morning, Mother. Are you going to get some fresh-kill?"

She nodded. "Would you like something?"

"No thank you," I meowed, shaking my head. "I'm not hungry yet. Maybe later?"

"Of course." She smiled and padded out of the nursery.

_Phase one, complete. Now I must wake up Lilykit._ I turned to my cream-colored sister and prodded her gently. "Lilykit!" I whispered. "Wake up!"

She slowly opened her eyes, revealing sparkling pools of sky-blue. "Dewkit? What is it?"

"Come on." I flicked my tail. "I want to show you something!" I motioned to a small hole in the back nursery wall of brambles.

"Are we going to sneak out?" Lilykit looked panicked. She was very polite and obedient; she would never break the rules.

"Only for a few heartbeats!" I protested. I bounded over to the hole and crawled through, checking that the beautiful dove feather was in place. _Yes. Phase two, complete._

Lilykit tumbled out of the nursery, almost crashing into me.

"Look!" I pointed to the dove feather with my tail. Lilykit gasped and stared at it in awe. "That's so beautiful! Where'd you find it?"

"I was taking a nap in the sun over here yesterday, and a dove just soared above my head!" I gazed into the sky, as though I were seeing it flutter by. "And its feather just fell, right from its wing!"

"No way!" Lilykit giggled. "That is just so cool! Have you shown Mother?"

I shook my head. "I can't. If I do, she might take it away!"

"What about Sunkit and Sagekit?"

"Nope. You're the first to see it. Well, besides me, of course." I licked her ear, and she smiled, her tail waving gently back and forth.

"I love you, Dewkit," she purred.

"I love you too, sis…but…I have to tell you something." Dewkit unsheathed his claws, and Lilykit stared at him, a puzzled and startled expression spread across her face. "Dewkit?"

"When I say that I love you," Dewkit began, leaping on top of her and pinning her down. Lilykit gasped and struggled. "Dewkit, what are you-" Her voice was cut short as I pressed against her throat with one forepaw.

"…I really don't." I sank my claws into her throat, and blood bubbled from the wound. She panted and choked, until finally, she lay still. I caught my breath, then covered her body with a pile of foxdung I'd gathered the previous day. Then I picked her up by the scruff of her neck and dragged her into the clearing.

I placed Lilykit's body at my paws and let out a thin wail. Fake tears rolled down my cheeks as cats gawked at me.

"Dewkit!" Lightfeather rushed over to me. "Great StarClan! Lilykit!" She crouched beside the tiny kit's body and gently rasped her tongue over her. Then she glanced up at me. "What…what happened to her?" Her green eyes were filled with tears.

"I…I…I found her b-behind the nursery…and she was covered in blood and f-foxdung!" I stammered, choking on my own breath.

"I bet a fox killed her," an elder murmured, their voice filled with sorrow.

"No!" Lightfeather wailed, burying her muzzle into Lilykit's cream fur. "Lilykit!"

I almost felt sorry for her, but I shook off that faint feeling and forced pride into my heart. _I told you I could do it, Hawkfrost. Now I'm just one step closer to the plan you have for me._

**Ew! Dewkit, what is wrong with you?**

**He is obviously possessed by Hawkfrost. xD Lol. Nice, right? I tried. I had a hard time with this one. That's why it's so short. Sorry about that!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	38. Had Enough

**Uhhhhh…this takes place before Hollyleaf's death and Icepaw and Foxpaw's apprentice ceremony. –sweatdrop-**

HAD ENOUGH

"Hi, Ferncloud!" Dustpelt greeted, padding into the nursery with a vole in his jaws. "Hi, Icekit. Hi, Foxkit."

Foxkit pounced on Dustpelt's tail, while Icekit tumbled in between his forepaws. "Dad!" they cried in unison.

Ferncloud didn't look happy.

Dustpelt tried to ignore the tension he felt coming off of her in waves. "Uh…I brought you a vole! We can share." He dropped it at her paws and settled down in front of her. Icekit and Foxkit crawled over him, their weight pressing down on him. "Icekit, Foxkit, you two are getting too big to crawl on me, now," Dustpelt chuckled. He turned and took a large bite of the vole.

Ferncloud didn't move.

Dustpelt nudged the vole to her. "Have some."

She still sat motionless.

"Ferncloud?" Dustpelt licked her on the flank. "Are you okay?"

"Dustpelt," she mewed quietly. "I'm pregnant again."

"Really?" Dustpelt exclaimed. "That's great! More warriors for the Clan!" He noticed that she didn't look happy about it, and he asked, "What's wrong?"

"Dustpelt," she repeated, her voice low. "Can we go talk? In the forest?"

"And leave Foxkit and Icekit here?" Dustpelt glanced at the two almost six-moon-old kits, who were playing together in a patch of sunlight.

"Daisy will watch them." Ferncloud stood up, stretched, and padded into the clearing. Dustpelt followed her into the forest and to the lake.

Ferncloud sat down onto the pebbly shore, and Dustpelt sat beside her. "What is it?" he asked worriedly.

"Dustpelt…" she sighed, hesitating before she continued. "I feel like…you're…using me. For kits. I can't just constantly have kits until every single warrior in ThunderClan is my son or daughter."

Dustpelt stared at her, shocked, his eyes wide. What was she saying?

"I don't feel like you love me for _me_." Ferncloud's green eyes stayed on the lake, her expression blank. "I feel like you only love me for the _kits_ I have. You want me to have more and more kits that can be strong and resemble you. You're too…well, not humble."

Dustpelt's heart sank and he stared at his paws. Ferncloud felt unloved…but he loved her more than anything. More than their kits. More than life.

"I…I do love you, Fern-" Dustpelt was cut off by his mate swinging her head around to face him. Her usually soft green eyes were blazing with fierceness and anger.

"You love the _kits_ we have!" Ferncloud hissed. "I'm tired of you _using_ me for _kits!_ Dustpelt, I have had _enough!"_

She turned and stalked away.

**Aw…poor Dusty! I know Ferncloud isn't mean, but this was all I could think of. I've always wanted to see (or write about, in this case) another side of her. :D Hope you liked it!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	39. Just Go Away

**Oh! I'm in second place! –dances- No one seems to be updating the 100 Tales Challenge except me…so…I think I might actually soon get ahead of Amberleaf, if she doesn't start updating!**

**The return of Dawnkit, all the way from chapter 1, The Beginning. Hope you like! **

JUST GO AWAY

The other kits had never liked Dawnkit.

Maybe it was because she had no mother.

Maybe it was because half her fur was missing from her tail at birth.

She couldn't quite put her paw on it. But all she knew was that they disliked her. A lot.

But one single kit did like her-Redkit.

You've probably heard a story like this before. A kit being hated for being different, and one cat of the opposite gender defends her. Soon, they fall in love, and have a happy life. The cats who taunted her are perhaps exiled because of some horrible deed.

But this is no story.

This is _real._

xxxxxx

Dawnkit crept toward the sleeping Redkit, grinning to herself. This was classic. She was going to pay him back for all those times he'd startled her awake. She crouched there, giving herself momentum, and pounced, landing squarely on his tail and nipping it.

Redkit leapt a mouse length into the air, yowling. His eyes were wide as the moon and his dark ginger fur was sticking straight up.

Dawnkit let go and doubled over in laughter.

"What did you do that for?" Redkit demanded, smoothing down his bristling fur.

"Oh, please," Dawnkit mewed, batting her friend over the ear with a sheathed paw. "You wake me up by pouncing on me all the time! I was just getting you back."

"Oh, really…?" Redkit peeked up at her, a mischevious expression on his face. He suddenly leapt into the air and bowled Dawnkit over, pinning her down easily.

Dawnkit squirmed underneath him. "Hey! Get off!"

Redkit stepped to the side while Dawnkit rose to her paws and shook the dust off her tortoiseshell and white fur. Then she tackled Redkit to the ground. Redkit gave a startled yelp.

The kits tumbled around for a few heartbeats until they crashed into someone.

"Oh!" Dawnkit leapt off of Redkit and gazed up at the cat that she crashed into. She gasped and bowed her head. "Sorry, Hawktalon…"

The enormous gray tom scoffed. "Tch. Can't you watch where you're going? You've got two working eyes, you know."

He stalked into the warriors' den, and Dawnkit flattened her ears.

"Ignore him," Redkit meowed. "He's just a big furball."

Redkit's sister and Dawnkit's stepsister, Snowkit, padded out of the nursery with their mother, Cloudfur, trailing behind her. "See? Dawnkit was being mean to Redkit."

"I was not!" Dawnkit protested. "I just…I was just playing a trick on him!"

"That's being _mean,_" Snowkit hissed. Dawnkit had to dig her claws into the ground to keep herself from tackling that piece of mousedung.

"Dawnkit…" Cloudfur sighed. "I've talked to you about this before. I have nothing left to do but punish you."

"But I was just playing!" Tears of anger and frustration filled Dawnkit's eyes and she kneaded the ground with her claws. Redkit thankfully backed her up. "Yes, we were just playing around. There's no harm in what she did I do it to her all the time."

Cloudfur ignored their pleas and picked up Dawnkit by the scruff of her neck. Snowkit watched smugly as her mother carried Dawnkit into the nursery.

Redkit unsheathed his claws. "What'd you do that for? She was just playing, and you know it!"

Snowkit rubbed her face against his. "Don't be angry, Redkit. You know I've always wanted to play with just you, and not her. So…I kind of had to get rid of her!" She chuckled.

Redkit bristled and scooted away from her. "Leave us alone." He turned and headed toward the nursery. Snowkit caught up to him. "Redkit…" Her voice sounded hurt.

He _almost_ felt sorry for her.

_Almost._

But he stayed strong for his best friend and hissed, "Just go away."

**Erm…**

**._. I kind of switched from Dawnkit's POV to Redkit's. Oh well! This was a pretty crappy chapter. Sorry!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	40. Typical

**I'm running out of warrior names, here…so if I use one more than once, it's because I am having many difficulties trying to think of different names. So…yeah! Sorry. Also, remember the gorge in ShadowClan territory from chapter 32? It's in this chapter, too. ^^; **

TYPICAL

Ever since we were kits in the nursery, my brother always tried to compete with me.

Well, why wouldn't he? He was smaller. He had a weak-sounding name-Mousekit. He didn't have large, sharp claws or broad, muscular shoulders like me. Even my father didn't like to play with him because he was afraid that he'd step on Mousekit.

I felt bad for him.

Then he became full of anger and unhappiness, which was unusual for a kit. Whenever we'd wrestle, he'd use his claws and teeth, and once he even sprained my paw. He'd always blame things on me that he had done. Mother didn't quite know whom to believe.

Once we became apprentices, he fell in love with a beautiful she-cat named Petalpaw. I, too, fell in love with her, and it was obvious whom she'd choose to love: me. Lionpaw.

We fought and fought over her. Once again, he sprained my other forepaw in another wrestling match. Our medicine cat was beginning to catch onto who was causing me all these injuries.

Now we're full-grown warriors. Petalpaw, now Petalbreeze, is my mate. She's expecting kits in a few moons, and I am overjoyed. Mousepaw, now Mousefoot, is not. He is now full of anger, unhappiness, and envy. He won't even look at Petalbreeze or me.

That's the story of our past. Now this is the story of the present.

xxxxxx

"Hi, Petalbreeze," I meowed, squeezing into the nursery entrance, which was made more for slender she-cats rather than for huge, broad-shouldered toms like me.

"Lionclaw!" the ginger-and-white-patched she-cat purred, bouncing to her paws and nuzzling me.

"How about you go out into the forest with me and get some fresh air?" I suggested.

Petalbreeze nodded. "Sure!"

The moment I exited the nursery, Mousefoot popped in front of us. "Hey, Lionclaw, Petalbreeze. How's it going?"

I was shocked, and I could tell Petalbreeze was as well. Mousefoot was _small-talking_ us? He had not even spoken a word to us after we became mates, and now he was asking us how we were?

"I heard you guys are going into the forest for some fresh air," Mousefoot continued. "Mind if I tag along? I've not been on a patrol in what seems like moons!"

"Um…" Petalbreeze and I exchanged glances. "Sure."

Mousefoot looked sickeningly delighted. "Thanks! This'll be great!" He bounded to the camp entrance. "Come on, slowpokes!"

My mate and I exchanged glances once again, and hurried over to the entrance, not knowing what to expect of this trip.

Mousefoot led us all the way to the gorge, which was farther than I wanted to take my pregnant mate. But we were both too stunned that he'd talked to us to say anything.

We reached the steep, rocky hill that led up to the cliff.

"Er, Mousefoot," I meowed. "I don't think Petalbreeze should be climbing this…it's too steep, and it won't be good for the kits."

"Oh, come on," Mousefoot insisted. "It's not so bad." He sprang up onto a rock, and then leapt onto another, until he was at the top.

I helped Petalbreeze up the hill, and when we reached the top, she sat down, panting. I shot a glare at Mousefoot, but he wasn't looking.

"Oh! There's the lake!" Mousefoot motioned with his muzzle towards the forest. I followed his gaze, but the tall pine trees were blocking my view. "Where?"

Petalbreeze glanced up. "I don't see it."

"Well…why don't you come stand where I am?" Mousefoot moved aside so we could sit in his spot.

"I still don't see it," Petalbreeze meowed. "Do you, Lionclaw?"

I shook my head.

Suddenly, Mousefoot bowled into Petalbreeze from behind. She shrieked and tumbled over the edge of the gorge. "Petalbreeze!" I yowled. I gazed down and saw her spiraling into her rocky grave. "No! Petalbreeze! StarClan, no!"

I could hear her wailing, and suddenly, it stopped.

I spun around to glare at Mousefoot. "What have you _done?_ You killed my beloved mate!" I lashed out at him with my forepaws.

He dodged my blows and grinned. "If I can't have her, nobody can!"

I flung myself onto him, and he toppled over the cliff. Like Petalbreeze, I could hear his yowling, and then a small crash.

So, Mousefoot killed my mate, and then died because of it.

Typical.

**Brother rivalry. ^^**

**I'm 2/5ths of the way there!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	41. Stronger Than Me

**This is continued from chapter 40, Typical! It's from Mousefoot's POV. He's talking to Lionclaw in a dream.**

STRONGER THAN ME

Oh, Lionclaw.

Dear, dear Lionclaw.

I am sorry.

I know you're angry. I know you hate me, and are glad that you killed me.

I know you loved Petalbreeze, and her unborn kits.

I am sorry.

Oh, if only I'd just accepted your love for her in the first place, I wouldn't be here.

I am surprised that I am in StarClan and not the Place of No Stars.

I think maybe it is because I have so much guilt and regret.

I watch you now, day by day, as you struggle to carry on your regular warrior duties, knowing the fact that your own brother killed your beloved mate.

Please, don't glare at me like that. I said I was sorry. I, too, feel so much sorrow that all I do during the day is lay around, wallowing in my own shame and regret.

Our stupid brother jealousy got me here. Now I realize that I can't always get what I want.

You wonder why I'm jealous of you?

While you're named after an enormous, powerful lion, I'm named after a tiny, anxious mouse. Everyone loves you and looks up to you, while they look down on me. You're muscular and huge and intimidating, and you run quickly and fight harshly.

Am I scared of you? Of course I am. Why do _you_ think I'm scared of you? It's because…

You're stronger than me.

**._. Weird and extremely short. Sorry! I tried. **

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	42. Rival

**I'm almost to chapter 45, where Amberleaf (my main competition) is! –evil grin- Watch out, Amberleaf.**

**This is kind of a continuation of all the way from chapter 3, So You Think You're Tough, Huh? This takes place about a moon after that chapter. Enjoy!**

RIVAL

That cat was no kittypet, I can tell you that.

When my Clanmates found my lying there, bloody and missing patches of fur, and with the black-and-white tom standing over me, they were stunned. They tried to fight off the cat, but he ended up breaking Lionclaw's forepaw. He'd heard about the Clans and wanted to join one. Raincloud was too terrified to say no, so we brought the loner to Pouncestar, who merely agreed to let him into the Clan.

The tom's name was Claw, so Pouncestar decided to call him Clawpaw. He was about a moon older than me, and trained very hard. Although, he didn't quite understand that he was supposed to keep his claws sheathed during a mock fight.

Soon, he fell in love with my sister, Creekpaw. I was afraid for her. But Creekpaw didn't love him. She was afraid, too.

One morning, Clawpaw tackled me and pinned me down against the apprentices' den floor. "What did you tell her?" he demanded.

"Tell who?" I choked out, squirming and writhing underneath his strong grip.

"Creekpaw!" he spat. "What did you tell her to make her not love me?"

"I-I didn't tell her anything, Clawpaw!" I hissed. "Get off of me!"

Clawpaw stepped off and watched me scramble to my paws, panting. His eyes were filled with sorrow. That was something I'd never seen in his amber eyes. I almost felt bad for him. Almost.

"Clawpaw…" I murmured. A tear slipped down his cheek, and he stared down at his paws. "I…I love her more than anything, Bramblepaw…"

My heart ached for him, which was strange, because he had almost killed me about a moon ago. "I'm sorry, Clawpaw…she's afraid of you. Maybe if you didn't act so menacing, she wouldn't be scared."

Clawpaw didn't take my advice, though. After Creekpaw died, he soon fell in love with a beautiful she-cat named Skypaw. I had had a crush on her ever since we were kits in the nursery. She appeared to like me, too, but both of us never had the guts to tell each other. I awoke one morning at dawn and heard murmuring outside my den. I poked my head out and saw Clawpaw and Skypaw sitting side by side, pelts pressing, tails entwined. They sat watching the sunrise.

Then we became warriors. Skypaw is now Skygaze, and Clawpaw is now Clawpelt. I am Bramblefur, which doesn't sound nearly as menacing and tough as Clawpelt. Skygaze gave birth to Clawpelt's kits: Sunkit, Patchkit, and Brackenkit. Clawpelt probably trained them to despise me, because whenever they walk past me, they glare at me out of the corner of their eye.

Clawpelt's kits are apprentices now. I was given Patchpaw to mentor. He doesn't seem to hate me as much as his siblings do, but he's not exactly happy that I'm his mentor. When Clawpelt found out that I was mentoring his kit, his eyes blazed with anger and his pelt bristled.

Now I'm laying here, my life bleeding out of me, under the claws of Clawpelt. The life that was threatened by this very cat is flashing before my eyes. I am reliving every moment I'd had something I'd loved taken away from me…by him. The sky is lightening. Creekpaw bounds toward me, her brown tabby pelt mottled with stars. "Come on, Bramblefur. Come with me."

I float from my body, the shell that protected who I am, and race alongside her. I will miss Skygaze and Patchpaw, who, every day, was liking me more and more. I will miss the warriors' den and my soft mossy nest, and all my friends. I'll miss Pouncestar, because he was a great leader, even though he allowed my ferocious killer into the Clan. I don't want to die, even though I'll be with my sister. I liked my life, when _he_ wasn't in it.

Clawpelt will _always_ be my rival.

**Rambling. Short. Boring. Sorry!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	43. It's Not my Time

**This chapter might be a bit creepy and disturbing. Enjoy! XD**

IT'S NOT MY TIME

Russetkit was…well, different.

When she was born, her eyes were open and she could hear. It was strange, because her eyes were green. Usually when kits are born, their eyes are blue at first. Not Russetkit. Her pelt was a deep, rusty ginger-brown color. She had long legs, long whiskers, and a long tail. Why her mother didn't name her Longkit, we'll never know.

I wouldn't say I was her friend. But I was nice to her, which made cats believe I was her friend. The other kits tried to be nice to her, but she'd always say weird things, and they'd back away slowly. I felt bad for Russetkit. I'd see her sitting by herself under the shade of a willow tree, and I'd go and ask her if she wanted to play. Usually she would shake her head, but I kept trying. Mother always told me to be nice to _every_ kit.

Now we're apprentices. Russetpaw's mentor is the RiverClan deputy, Graytail. I was never in a mock fight with her, but my fellow denmates said that they were, and that she had tremendous speed and power. No one ever beat her. But now I'm about to fight her in mock battle, and the other apprentices think that I just might have what it takes to pin her down.

"Ready?" Graytail asked, switching his gaze from Russetpaw to me. I nodded and crouched down, my heart fluttering in my chest like a baby bird stretching its wings. Graytail lashed his tail. "Go!"

Immediately, I sprang forward. Russetpaw slipped gracefully away and swatted me on the ear with her forepaw. I crashed to the ground, but hastily picked myself up and flung myself onto her. She reared up onto her hind legs and toppled onto me, easily pinning me down. I struggled underneath her grip, but all in all, I knew she'd won.

"Great fight," my mentor, Dustclaw, praised. "You both did very well, but Russetpaw is the winner."

I sighed as I climbed to my paws and shook the sand from my fur. I'd lost. Russetpaw _did_ have a lot of skill and power! Lucky her.

"Congratulations," I meowed politely to Russetpaw, who was grooming her chest. She slowly gazed up at me, her dark green eyes glowing brightly. Startled, I took a pawstep back.

"_Be careful what you say..."_ Russetpaw's voice was eerie and whispery. Her eyes quickly returned to normal. "What's wrong? You look like you've just seen a ghost!"

I was too frozen with shock to respond right away. I swallowed hard and stammered, "N-n-nothing." Russetpaw stared at me with a puzzled expression on her face, but turned around and began to clean her chest again.

xxxxxx

I was annoyed with Russetpaw.

Oh, I was infuriated with her.

She caught three pheasants. _Three._ They fed the whole Clan twice.

All she did was boast about it.

"You can call me Pheasantpaw now," she laughed, and the other apprentices laughed with her.

Out on a hunting patrol that leaf-bare, I caught a scrawny shrew. It was barely enough to feed a kit. I groaned as Russetpaw loped over to me with a large rabbit in her jaws. She eyed the shrew I'd caught and finally meowed, "You can be called Shrewpaw now."

It was just a joke, but that really put me in a rage.

"You know what?" I hissed to her. "You are just an annoying, arrogant piece of fox dung! Why won't you shut up about your three pheasants? No one cares!"

Russetpaw's eyes blazed. She flexed her claws and I gulped. Russetpaw tackled me to the ground, her claws ripping into my fur. I tried to yowl, but no sound came out. I was too startled and afraid. Russetpaw pinned me down and clawed my underbelly with her hind claws. I gathered all my strength and pushed her off. She flew into the air and crashed to the ground about a few mouse-lengths away from me. I prowled toward her and pinned her down.

"This is what you get," I hissed into her ear, and sank my fangs into her throat.

Nothing happened.

Russetpaw shoved me off of her and pinned me down again.

"How did you not die?" I gasped, struggling underneath her.

Russetpaw grinned and sank her claws into my throat. Blood bubbled from the wound and the world began to spin. I choked and gasped for air, but I knew I was dying.

Russetpaw licked the blood off her claws and watched me die. "It's not my time."

**O_O Russetpaw is one freaky cat. This was pretty short; sorry. Hope you liked!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	44. Hurt

**Um…D:**

HURT

'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.'

Wrong.

Words _do _hurt.

"Volepaw, you mousebrain, you're supposed to roll, and _then_ leap at me!" Iceclaw hissed, lifting his massive paw from my throat. I scrambled to my paws and shook the sand off my pelt, feeling dread creeping up my throat like bile. Here came the lecture.

"If you want to be a good warrior," Iceclaw explained, "you _have_ to have power and skill. You can't just lounge through training and expect to be the best warrior in the Clan, you know." He rolled his eyes. "I can't believe I got stuck training _you,_ instead of your siblings. They're much stronger than _you._ You're supposed to look mighty and strong, but _you_ look like you're flailing your paws around mindlessly. I look bad mentoring you!" He scowled.

I flinched as he rose to his paws and swung his massive head around. "Let's get to hunting now. I wasted a whole day trying to teach you this move, but all you did is laze around and ignore me."

My belly twisted as we padded across the training hollow and to the river. He always criticized me whenever I did even the tiniest thing incorrectly. I sighed and crouched on a large slab of rock right beside the river, gazing down into the water, searching for any movement.

There! A minnow darted right underneath my shadow. I swiped my paw into the water and snatched it up with my claws, quickly killing it and placing it to the side. Beside me, Iceclaw was killing off a large fish, much bigger than mine. It could feed all the queens and kits, and the elders! My eyes widened. He turned to me, and I cringed when he eyed my fish. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he hastily flicked his eyes back to the water. I sighed and followed suit.

When we returned back to camp, I carried one fish-the small minnow that could barely feed a kit. Iceclaw had 3 large fish clamped in his jaws. We placed them onto the fresh-kill pile, and Iceclaw stalked toward me. "Follow me. I need to talk to you." His voice was low. I gulped and scurried behind him, into the lush trees that surrounded the camp.

"I have never seen such a weak, brainless apprentice," Iceclaw growled. I shrank back under his hard amber gaze. "What is wrong with you? Why can't you be like your siblings? They're great hunters and fighters, and they think on their feet! Why did StarClan punish _me_ with training you? Why can't you just do what I say?" Iceclaw tore the grass with his thorn-sharp claws.

"I…I'm trying, Iceclaw," I whimpered, and then quickly shut my mouth. What had I just said to my powerful mentor?

"You're not trying at all," Iceclaw spat. "And if you are, you're not trying hard enough. You're never going to become a warrior. You're going to train for the rest of your life, because you can't even catch more than one measly fish, or do the simplest battle move ever made."

I gaped at him in horror. I would never be a warrior? How could this be? Was I really _that_ bad of an apprentice? Questions reeled through my head as I sulked back to camp behind Iceclaw.

_StarClan, why did you make me like this?_

I yawned and circled my nest. My belly rumbled; Iceclaw had been so ashamed of my hunting that day that he didn't even let me eat. I tucked my muzzle between my paws and closed my eyes, wishing that StarClan would take me in my sleep, so that I wouldn't be a nuisance to Iceclaw anymore. I wanted to be a warrior, but if all I was doing to my Clan was adding one more mouth to feed, I didn't want to be any part of it. I didn't want to make it weak.

I blinked my eyes open and felt springy, soft grass underneath me. The dark night sky, sprinkled with glittering stars, was wide open above me. I gazed around. Where was I? This wasn't the RiverClan camp, much less any part of the forest I knew of. I rose to my paws and took a pawstep into an ice-cold puddle of water. I drew my paw back and shook the water droplets off. I peered into the water and saw the reflection of…a lion!

I gasped and spun around, but there was no lion behind me. Nothing was there. I inhaled deeply and gazed into the water again. The worried face of a lion was there again. Scars were slashed across its face and ears.

"_This is you, Volepaw,"_ a voice whispered in my ear.

"This isn't me," I protested. "I'm a normal cat, not a lion."

"_This is an image of you."_ I felt something soft gently brush my ear, but I couldn't tear my eyes from the reflection of the lion. I couldn't speak either-my whole body felt frozen. _"This lion reflects your inner soul-how you really feel. The lion is your emotional strength. The scars represent all the times you've been beaten down by words but have quickly recovered, and the worried expression is your worry about your ability."_

"_No one knows that inside of you is a mighty lion, but you must show them how powerful you really are."_

The pool began to fade, and I gasped as the ground opened up underneath me.

"Volepaw, get your lazy rear out of your nest and outside." Iceclaw's voice jolted me out of my sleep. I leapt to my paws, panting, and stumbled out of the den. _Maybe I _should_ show everyone my inner lion._

I drew in a deep breath. "Iceclaw."

The large white tom spun around and snapped, "What?"

"Stop criticizing me about everything," I began. A fire blazed in my soul and everything just spilled out of my mouth. "I'm sick and tired of how you treat me. Just because I'm not the best at fighting doesn't mean that I'm not going to be a warrior. You have no right to call me a mousebrain, or useless, or any of those things you call me!" My legs trembled, but my voice was strong and firm. "I'm going to be the best warrior I can be. That doesn't depend on how strong I am, or how much skill I have. And when I get my own apprentice, I won't pick at every tiny thing they do wrong and ignore all the good things."

The ice in my mentor's eyes melted and he exhaled loudly. "Volepaw…you're right."

My ears pricked. "I…yeah, I am."

"I'm sorry."

"I-it's okay." I never thought I'd see the day when Iceclaw stopped being so mean. Now he was actually _apologizing _to me! My heart floated and I felt like I could take off and fly.

"Let's go train," Iceclaw suggested, smiling for the first time since I became his apprentice. I nodded and bounded out of the camp after him.

Words don't hurt anymore.

**Weird. o.o And long. Oh well! **

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	45. Misfortune

**I've caught up!!! XDDD Hoorah! But the stupid login thing wasn't working, and then the Document Manager wasn't, so it took me a while to update this chapter, and chapter 44. T.T**

…**I'm stuck, though. ._. I dunno what to make this one about…**

MISFORTUNE

When Eaglestar led us into his first battle as leader-with ThunderClan- we all agreed with him. This was a battle that had to be fought for the sake of WindClan. ThunderClan had accused us of stealing prey. Why would we want to eat those disgusting birds and voles, anyway? It hadn't been us, but you know ThunderClan. Always trying to accuse other Clans of everything.

It was a battle terribly lost.

My brother, Redstripe, died. Eaglestar lost his first life. Our deputy was badly wounded. Luckily I was fine; just a few scratches and cuts. I mourned Redstripe greatly, as did the rest of the Clan, because he was a fantastic warrior and always cheered cats up when they were down.

The second battle wasn't lost so terribly. RiverClan had been crossing our border and our patrol ran into theirs. An apprentice ran to get backup from the camp, and thankfully that didn't include me. But when WindClan returned from the battle, many cats were wounded. Eaglestar had lost his second life under the claws of the RiverClan leader, Poppystar.

Now, the battle with ShadowClan was awful. My shoulder was injured and Eaglestar, of course, lost yet another life. My father and one of my best friends were killed.

As we returned back to camp, Eaglestar muttered something about misfortune.

Eaglestar, this isn't misfortune. Your stubbornness has gotten us into all these battles.

You ever becoming leader was the misfortune.

**o.e Horrible! And really, really, really short! Wow, this cat just dissed her leader. :o**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	46. Listen to Me

**Return of the random non-existent gorge in ShadowClan territory! xD Lionpaw and Poppypaw are my made-up characters. They're not from the Power of Three thing. They just so happened to have the exact same names. **

LISTEN TO ME

"Remember to stay away from the gorge!" I called after the two apprentices that were darting out of the camp and into the forest. One of those included mine-Poppypaw- and my best friend's-Lionpaw.

"Do you think they will?" my best friend, Lilystream, wondered aloud. I shrugged. "They're smart apprentices. Surely they will. Now come on. We have to follow them."

Our apprentices, three moons into apprenticeship, were having a hunting assessment. Lilystream and I weren't nervous about it; they were really great apprentices. They usually brought home the most prey, and were picked to fight in battles. But they rarely ever followed instructions, which worried me, although I didn't show it. I didn't want to worry Lilystream as well.

I tasted the air once we reached the forest. Poppypaw and Lionpaw's scents mingled; they must've decided to stay together. Lilystream and I followed their scents and scrambled up a pine tree as they padded by.

"I smell rabbit!" Lionpaw hissed to Poppypaw. She nodded, unsheathed her claws, and crept toward the scent. Suddenly it dashed by. Poppypaw sprang at it, claws outstretched.

_Get it, Poppypaw!_ I cheered silently. _You can do it!_

Poppypaw was giving that plump rabbit a good chase. Lionpaw was hard on her heels. Lilystream and I crept after them, hiding behind bushes and undergrowth.

They were at the gorge when Poppypaw finally caught up to the rabbit and killed it. She glanced up at Lionpaw triumphantly. The large golden tom was panting after the long chase.

"This rabbit could feed all the queens and kits, plus the elders!" Poppypaw boasted as she scraped the earth over the fresh-kill.

They were so close to the edge. My heart thudded hard in my chest and my legs trembled. _Be careful!_

Poppypaw's ears suddenly pricked and she turned to Lionpaw. "Have you ever wondered what's down there?" She motioned her tail to the edge of the gorge. Lionpaw nodded and curiously peered over the edge.

"Wow! Look how big that river is!" Poppypaw cried. She teetered and lost her balance.

"Poppypaw!" Lionpaw shrieked. He grabbed onto her tail with his teeth, but it was too late. The tortoiseshell she-cat plunged over the edge of the gorge, taking Lionpaw with her.

"Poppypaw! Lionpaw!" Lilystream and I bounded to the gorge and gazed down. The two apprentices had already splashed into the river, now probably dead. I swallowed a sickening feeling of dread and despair. "Lilystream," I murmured after a long moment of silence.

Lilystream didn't look up from the gorge. "Yes?"

"If only they'd listened to me."

**Stupid, I know. Deal with it. I tried!**

**In my oneshots, I always make cats die. **

**I am a very depressing person. D:**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	47. Standing Still

**I have an ideaaaa!! :D :D :D**

STANDING STILL

Death.

I'd never seen death.

What was it like?

How did it happen?

Why did it happen?

Where did they go?

Death was just a word to me as I grew up.

I never knew death.

But now I know.

Runningpaw was named for her tireless energy. She was always moving, bustling around to help other cats.

Oh, dear, sweet, beautiful Runningpaw…

I miss her so much.

Our last few moments together were precious.

"Runningpaw, you promise you'll stay safe?" I begged the sleek black she-cat. Her green eyes glowed with amusement. "I promise, Mallowpaw. I'll see you when the battle is over, okay?"

I swallowed and nodded shakily as I watched her scurry over to the camp entrance. We'd caught ShadowClan hunting on our territory, and Brightstar was determined to put an end to it.

I waited a long time. I sat there between two senior warriors, guarding the camp incase any ShadowClan tried to sneak in. I shifted my paws anxiously and tried to pass the time by watching Silverpelt pop up against the darkening sky.

Finally, Brightstar appeared from the lush trees that surrounded the camp. I nearly stopped breathing when I saw two warriors helping Runningpaw limp past us.

"Runningpaw!" I darted over to her as the warriors set her down on the ground. Her eyes were just barely cracked open. Blood poured from her throat and head, and soaked the earth scarlet. She sat up beside me, grunting as she used the last of her energy to heave herself to her paws. "Mallowpaw…" she mumbled.

"What is it?" I scooted closer to her, my heart thudding 10 foxlengths per second.

"I love you."

"Don't die, Runningpaw…" I sobbed. She suddenly stopped breathing and her eyes stopped blinking.

And for the first time, Runningpaw was standing still.

**Awh. Sad. And short. o.o**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	48. What!

**These cats are from chapter 37, One Step Closer. Enjoy!**

WHAT?!

Do I regret killing Lilykit?

Of course I do.

After I killed my sister, Hawkfrost decided that I was too weak to kill my other siblings. Angry, I hissed at him that I'd never kill any cats in my Clan ever again.

I kept that promise.

"Dewpaw, you're kicking me in the belly!" Sagepaw hissed into my ear. I jolted awake and gazed around. I was in the apprentices' den, just like usual, and the other apprentices were lying around me, asleep. A dim predawn light was filtering in through the roof of the den, and I yawned. "What?"

Sagepaw scowled. "Keep your legs to yourself."

"Sorry." I rose to my paws and yawned again, stretching. I knew I wasn't going to fall asleep again, so I padded out of the den and glanced around the clearing. My mother, Lightfeather, was standing guard at the camp entrance. I hurried over to her. "Hello."

"Good morning, Dewpaw," she sighed. I tilted my head. "What's wrong?"

The ginger-and-white she-cat stared at the horizon. "I miss Lilykit."

I felt a pang of sorrow in my belly, but I shook it off. "I do too."

"Do you really think she was killed by a fox?" Lightfeather asked.

I shrugged. "She _was_ covered in foxdung."

"If that's so," Lightfeather murmured, "the Clan would've found foxes in the territory by now." She hung her head and stared at her paws.

_Lightfeather is heartbroken because of what I did,_ I told myself. My heart sank and I swallowed hard. "Mother," I began, inhaling deeply. "I killed Lilykit. Hawkfrost was visiting my dreams and told me that I'd be the most powerful cat in the forest, but my siblings would get in the way. He wanted them dead, and the only way that could happen was if I killed them. So…I killed Lilykit. I'm so sorry."

Lightfeather turned to me, her sky-blue eyes wide with shock. _"What?!"_

**Super-duper short! It ends so abruptly. I'm not happy with this chapter. Oh well! Onto 49!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	49. I Can't

**Continuation of chapter 48!**

I CAN'T

"You mousebrained fool!" Hawkfrost swiped at my head and I swiftly ducked. "How could you tell her? You're such a badger-brain!"

I flinched. "I'm sorry, Hawkfrost. I don't want to hurt anyone anymore."

"You don't want to be the most powerful cat in the forest?" he demanded. I shook my head. "Not if it means hurting my Clan."

Hawkfrost growled. "You're so soft-hearted. You'll never get what you want if you don't have aggression. You need power. Strength. Ferocity. You don't understand how much of this you'll receive when you're older and you've killed off all the cats that stand in your way. You _must_ get rid of them, or else you'll never gain any respect!"

"I don't _want_ respect! My Clan already hates me because I killed my own sister, and now my warrior ceremony will be postponed for a moon!" I hissed, flexing my claws and sinking them into the ground. "You've caused all this trouble. You've _used_ me for your own sick game! I don't want to work for you anymore. All this "most powerful cat in the forest" stuff is _fake!_ I'm never listening to you again, you mangy piece of foxdung!" I spun around and began to stalk away.

"Don't you want to see Lilykit?"

Those words stopped me in my tracks. "Lilykit?" I turned to face Hawkfrost. He actually looked truthful.

"Yes. I know where to find her."

"Bring her, then."

Hawkfrost disappeared, and a few heartbeats later, he returned with a cream-colored she-kit.

"Lilykit!" I cried, bounding over to her. I nuzzled her. "I'm so sorry, Lilykit."

"It's okay," she purred. "I'm not angry. I know this _furball-_" She glared at Hawkfrost. "-talked you into it."

Hawkfrost growled, but said nothing.

"No, it's not okay." I hung my head. "If I hadn't listened to him, you would be alive…"

"It _is_ okay, Dewpaw…Hawkfrost did the same to me," Lilykit admitted. I glanced up at her. "What?"

Lilykit looked ashamed. "Remember that one day when all the fresh-kill went missing, and the warriors found it in the dirtplace covered in dirt?"

I nodded.

"That…that was me, who put it in the dirtplace."

I pricked my ears. "Really?"

"Yes. And Hawkfrost convinced me to." She glared at him, and he flicked his ears in annoyance. "I thought you were strong enough to rule the forest. But apparently not, because you didn't even fight back when your brother attacked you."

Lilykit looked flustered. "Well…how was I supposed to know that he would attack me?"

"A good warrior must always be prepared." Hawkfrost's icy blue eyes glinted eerily, and the fur along my neck prickled. "Now enough with the chit-chat."

Lilykit and I exchanged anxious glances.

"You, Dewpaw, are the strongest of your litter. You have intense power. You shouldn't let any cat get in the way of it." Hawkfrost curled his tail over his massive paws. "You could rule the whole forest!"

Hunger for power gnawed through my heart, and I forced it away and growled at Hawkfrost.

"Your siblings almost match you in your strength," Hawkfrost continued. "Your Clanmates are seeing their smaller strength over your larger strength. They're getting in the way of your power. Don't you want power?"

I hesitated, then nodded. Lilykit gaped at me.

"Then all you need to do," he explained, "is kill them off, one by one. Even though your mother already knows that you killed Lilykit, she would never rat her precious kit out to your leader. She loves you too much. So what do you say?"

Lilykit shot me a stern glare. Heat rose to my ears and I stared at my paws. "I love my siblings, Hawkfrost…I…I can't."

**Stuuupiiiiddd!! Oh wells!**

**xx-Starfall-xx **


	50. Out Cold

**I'M HALFWAY DONE!!! XD XD XD I doubt I'll win, though…Amberleaf is already on chapter 55…Oh well! I'll try my best!**

…**Meep, this one's hard. o.o**

**By the way, people, I change POVs when Lightflower goes to get Sparrowpaw! It changes from Ripplestream's to Lightflower's. **

OUT COLD

"Streamripple?" Ripplestream cried, crouching beside the limp gray body and prodding it. "Streamripple! Please answer me! Are you all right?"

Lightflower, the medicine cat, scurried over to them. "How cruel of ShadowClan to attack us in our own camp!" she was muttering, and then gasped when she saw Streamripple's body. "Great StarClan!"

"Will she be okay?" Ripplestream asked desperately. Lightflower didn't respond; instead she demanded, "Help me carry her to my den."

Once Streamripple was inside the medicine den and safely nestled in a soft moss nest, Lightflower began giving orders to her apprentice, Sparrowpaw. "Fetch me some marigold, cobwebs, comfrey leaves, and some poppy seeds. And hurry!"

Ripplestream felt lightheaded. Everything felt like a blur, whizzing past him like a gust of wind. His heart hammered quickly and Ripplestream thought it would burst from his chest. _No. No! She can't die. She _can't._ She _has_ to live. I love her too much for her to die now. Why? _Why_, StarClan? Please let her live. Please. I…I'll do anything._

Sparrowpaw jolted him from his thoughts. "You need to stay outside of the den," he mewed quietly. Ripplestream dipped his head and backed out of the den, casting one last desperate glance at his mate, lying in the nest of moss with Lightflower hovering over her. He sighed and sat down, his tail-tip flicking restlessly. Sparrowpaw disappeared into the den, and reappeared a moment later with a leaf in his jaws. He handed it to Ripplestream. "This is thyme. It'll ease your nerves."

Ripplestream chewed and swallowed it, but his anxiety wasn't calmed much. He loved Streamripple so much that, when he was an apprentice, he had asked his leader to make his warrior name be Ripplestream, in honor of Streampaw, and hers be Streamripple. Every cat thought it was one of the sweetest relationships they'd ever seen. Ripplestream and Streamripple were planning on having kits together, but if she didn't live…Ripplestream shuddered at the thought. She _had_ to live.

After a while, Lightflower padded out of the den with herbs clamped in her jaws. Ripplestream leapt to his paws. "How is she?"

"She's in the paws of StarClan," Lightflower sighed, her voice muffled by the herbs in her mouth. She turned and hurried into the clearing of injured cats.

_Why isn't she in there helping Streamripple??_ was the first thought that shot through Ripplestream's mind. But he quickly pushed it away. _He has other wounded cats to see to._

Ripplestream waited about a fox-length from the entrance of the medicine cat's den throughout the night. Even Lightflower had stopped tending to cats' wounds and gone to sleep.

A little before moonhigh, when she returned to her den, she nodded to him as she passed him. "Ripplestream, you need to get some sleep. You're not tired from the battle?"

Ripplestream shrugged. He was exhausted, actually. His eyelids drooped over his amber eyes and his paws ached.

"Get some sleep," Lightflower mewed, and then padded into her den. Ripplestream began to rise to his paws, but then sat back down. He had to stay there and wait till morning to see how Streamripple was doing.

The night was cold, windy, and starless. Sand was buffeted into Ripplestream's face and he had to squeeze his eyes shut so no grains would invade them. Ripplestream gazed up at the sky. Silverpelt wasn't there. _StarClan, where are you? Streamripple needs you._

Finally, a predawn light began to brighten the sky. The wind had stopped, but the leaf-fall air was chilly and crisp. Ripplestream ruffled his pelt in an attempt to make himself warmer and padded into the medicine cat's den. Streamripple was lying in her mossy nest. Her flanks were covered in cobweb. Ripplestream sat down beside her, hoping she'd wake up, praying with all his might.

Lightflower soon appeared from her den. She yawned and stretched. "Good morning, Ripplestream."

Ripplestream dipped his head in greeting.

"Did you stay in here all night?"

"No…I stayed outside your den."

"The _whole_ night?"

Ripplestream nodded. "How is Streamripple? Will she live?"

Unease flashed in Lightflower's pale green eyes. "She…I'm not sure. She's been unconscious for a while now. I got up and checked on her throughout the night."

Ripplestream sighed.

"But she might live," Lightflower added. She headed to the entrance of the den. "I need to get Sparrowpaw. I'll be right back." She trotted out of the den, leaving Ripplestream to just stare sadly at his motionless mate.

Lightflower scurried to the apprentices' den, her paws almost numb with sadness. She poked her head through the entrance. "Sparrowpaw," she hissed. The brown tabby tom groggily lifted his head, his eyelids drooping over amber eyes. "What is it?"

Lightflower flicked her tail for him to follow her outside. He stumbled out of the den and sat down in front of her. "Yes?"

"Streamripple…she's…she's dead," Lightflower murmured. Sparrowpaw's eyes were flooded with sorrow. "Have you told Ripplestream yet?"

Lightflower shook her head. "I can't break the news to him just yet…"

"So you're just going to not tell him that his beloved mate is dead, and just let him sit outside your den for a few more nights?" Sparrowpaw had a point.

"Well…I'll tell him that she's still unconscious," Lightflower decided. She dipped her head to her apprentice and bounded to her den. Inside, Ripplestream was still at Streamripple's side, watching her as though he were wishing that she would just rise up and lick him on the nose.

Ripplestream gazed up at her. "She's dying, isn't she?" His eyes were filled with unimaginable sadness. Lightflower's heart twisted. "Ripplestream…she's not dying. She's out cold."

**Stupid ending! Sorry! I LOVE Ripplestream x Streamripple! I think the name thing is so adorable! 3 **

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	51. Can You Hear Me?

**Mua-ha-ha-ha-ha! I am catching up to you, Amberleaf! I'm so sorry it's been forever since I've updated! I've had so much homework, it's unbelievable. And also, this chapter might have some mistakes. It's been forever since I read TNP. I added a few things in, too, like a fight at the Gathering and such.**

CAN YOU HEAR ME?

Leafpaw sighed as she nudged a few juniper berries into a pile with her paw. She was supposed to be sorting herbs for Cinderpelt, but ever since her sister Squirrelpaw had disappeared along with Brambleclaw, that was all she could think about. Even Cinderpelt was getting fed up with how unfocused her apprentice was. Leafpaw and Squirrelpaw had a special bond, it seemed. They could sometimes contact each other through their minds. Leafpaw had been trying ever since Squirrelpaw had vanished, but all she could see was a misty fog.

Cinderpelt limped into the den. "You're not finished yet?"

Leafpaw stared guiltily at the herbs in front of her and shook her head.

Cinderpelt gave an exasperated sigh. "I know you're worried about Squirrelpaw. I would be too. But you must focus on your medicine duties. Mourning her isn't going to bring her back."

Leafpaw nodded determinedly. She _had_ to get her mind off her sister. "Sorry, Cinderpelt. Now what do you want me to do?"

"Well, the Gathering is tonight, and I don't want to wear you out too much…so just finish sorting these herbs, and you're free to go." Cinderpelt flicked her fluffy gray tail at the herbs that were scattered along the ground.

"I…I'm going?" Leafpaw's mood immediately brightened. She was definitely surprised. She hadn't been working very hard at all the past quarter moon.

Cinderpelt nodded. "As long as you promise me that you'll work harder and stop thinking about Squirrelpaw."

"Of course!" Leafpaw didn't want to let her mentor down. She turned back to the herbs and quickly began to sort them. Borage in this pile. Yarrow in that pile. Leafpaw was thrilled. This was her first Gathering! She would get to see all the magnificent leaders and deputies from the other Clans. Sorrelpaw had told her all about the Gathering, but now, she would be able to see it with her own eyes! She just couldn't wait!

Night quickly fell over the forest. Leafpaw ruffled her fur against a chilly breeze and longed for Squirrelpaw's warm, comforting ginger pelt beside her. Leafpaw felt a tail-tip brush her flank. Sandstorm was standing next to her. "Come on, dear. It's time to go."

Excitement flared through her veins as the group of ThunderClan cats began to trek up the ravine. In the distance, Leafpaw could hear the loud noise of the monsters. Even though they always went to sleep before moonhigh, she was still nervous about going into the forest. Monsters could be lurking anywhere. Leafpaw inched closer to her mother and followed her Clanmates into the trees.

Leafpaw gasped. Four towering oak trees stood before her; looming over her Clanmates, as though ready to topple over any second and crush them. But no, they looked too mighty and strong to fall. The brush of Sandstorm's tail over her shoulders brought her out of her thoughts and into the large clearing of cats. She tasted the air; RiverClan and ShadowClan were there, milling about and chatting with other cats. WindClan had yet to arrive.

"Look!" Shrewpaw hissed to her from beside her. "There's Blackstar!" He pointed his muzzle to a large white tom with even larger black paws. Leafpaw gaped at him. "Wow! He's the leader of ShadowClan, right?"

Shrewpaw nodded. "That's the deputy, Russetfur." He motioned with his tail to a fierce-looking dark ginger she-cat.

"Where's Leopardstar?" Leafpaw wondered aloud.

"Over there, talking to Firestar," Shrewpaw meowed. Leafpaw followed his gaze to a large boulder where Firestar and two other cats sat, chatting.

"The gray she-cat is Mistyfoot, the RiverClan deputy," Shrewpaw explained. "Look how muscular Leopardstar's shoulders are! I sure wouldn't want to meet her in battle."

Leafpaw nodded in agreement, and glanced around towards WindClan territory. "Where's WindClan?"

Shrewpaw shrugged. "I dunno. They're supposed to be the fastest Clan. I suppose they've been eating too many rabbits lately, eh?"

Leafpaw chuckled, but she knew that something was wrong.

"Oh!" Shrewpaw glanced up. "There's WindClan!"

Only about 7 cats are in the group, Leafpaw noticed. They all look so scrawny and weak! What's wrong with them? It's only leaf-fall. Prey shouldn't be getting scarce just yet.

"Ah, WindClan!" Blackstar leapt swiftly onto the boulder. Leopardstar and Firestar followed suit. "Let's begin, shall we?"

A frail-looking black-and-white tom stumbled to the boulder and scrabbled ungracefully onto it. Firestar glanced at him, a concerned expression on his face.

"Cats of all Clans," Leopardstar announced, getting all the cats' attentions, "welcome to the Gathering." She turned to Tallstar. "Would you like to go first?"

The black-and-white tom nodded weakly and padded forward. "WindClan is well…we are going through a minor prey scarcity, is all. But don't think that we are too weak to be able to fight." He shot a glare at Blackstar, who sniffed indignantly. Tallstar stepped back and nodded to Firestar to go next.

The flame-colored leader stepped forward. "All is well in ThunderClan. We have two new apprentices-Squirrelpaw and Leafpaw, who is our new medicine cat apprentice."

Leafpaw rose to her paws and felt grief crash over her. Squirrelpaw would be right next to her, her chin held high and her tail waving back and forth, gently brushing along Leafpaw's flank. The crowd of cats cheered and congratulated her. Warmth spread from her ears to her tail-tip.

Leopardstar padded forward and gazed over the crowd of cats. "Cats of the Clans, two of my warriors have gone missing-Stormfur and Feathertail!"

Gasps rippled throughout the clearing and Leafpaw felt her blood run cold. Two cats from RiverClan and two cats from ThunderClan. She glanced at Firestar, wondering what he was thinking.

Leopardstar spun around, facing the other three leaders. "I don't know which one of you planned this, but this has to be against the warrior code!" She lunged at Blackstar, the leader closest to her.

Suddenly, the entire clearing erupted in fighting. Leafpaw backed into the trees and huddled there, fear and panic prickling the fur on her spine.

_Squirrelpaw,_ Leafpaw thought, straining her mind, squeezing her eyes shut. _Where are you? Can you hear me?_

**Umm…yeah.**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	52. Sacrifice

**This is a continuation of chapter 31, Chosen One with Ravenpaw and his mother, Spottedwing. Plus Lilypetal-she's really important! I changed POVs, though, to third person. xD**

SACRIFICE

Spottedwing rolled over restlessly in her nest. She settled onto her right side, then turned onto her left side.

"Quit moving!" a warrior beside her hissed. Spottedwing flattened her ears and curled into a ball, listening to her own breathing. _Ravenpaw,_ she thought miserably. _StarClan has chosen my little Ravenpaw. What for? What must he do to please them?_ She sighed, closed her eyes, and drifted into an uneasy sleep.

Spottedwing ran as fast as she could, the trees a flashing blur around her, her paws scarcely touching the ground. Rain stabbed her pelt like pinecone needles and thunder growled up ahead, but this didn't slow her down. _I've got to find Ravenpaw,_ her mind was screaming. _I've got to find him. He's in danger._

Finally she saw a limp black body a few foxlengths away from her. Spottedwing slowed her pace as she approached. It was the lifeless body of…Ravenpaw. Panic squeezed her chest. "No!" she wailed. "StarClan, no! I'm too late. I'm too late…" She crouched beside the body, her head bowed and her body trembling.

"Do not mourn him for long." A calm, bright voice behind her startled her. Spottedwing spun around, knowing who was there. Lilypetal. The ginger-and-white she-cat stood there, smiling, her tail waving gently behind her.

"You!" Spottedwing hissed. "This is all your fault. Who are you? What have you done to my son? Why have you done this to him?" She broke off in sobs that racked her chest and made her gasp.

Lilypetal held her green gaze steady and calm. "This was only for the good of the Clan, Spottedwing. If it hadn't happened, the Clan would be destroyed."

"By what?" Spottedwing gazed up at her with wide, teary eyes. Lilypetal shook her head, and faded away. Spottedwing growled and bounded toward the she-cat. "Get back here! You can't just leave me here with my dead son! Come…_back!"_

The ground suddenly opened up underneath Spottedwing's feet and she was sent spiraling down the dark pit of nothingness, wailing not from fear, but from sorrow and sadness from the loss of Ravenpaw. She fell and fell, dreading the moment she crashed to the ground…perhaps then she would be reunited with Ravenpaw one last time…

"Spottedwing! Wake up!"

Spottedwing's eyes snapped open and she glanced around. "What?"

Hazelwing was standing there, glaring at her. "You keep thrashing in your sleep and wailing. You woke everyone up."

Spottedwing flattened her ears in embarrassment as she noticed the glares on the other warriors' faces. "Sorry…I just had a bad dream…"

"Well, next time, keep the dream to yourself," Hazelwing snorted, then swung around and stalked out of the den. Spottedwing sighed and rose to her paws, yawning and arching her back in a stretch. Suddenly, panic struck her heart. _What if that dream was what has really happened overnight? I _must_ go find Ravenpaw!_

Spottedwing dashed out of the den and across the camp to the apprentices' den. She stuck her head in and her eyes swept over the sleeping figures of the apprentices. Smokepaw and Splashpaw were both safe in their nests, along with two other apprentices. _StarClan, no._ The image of Ravenpaw's lifeless body flashed in her mind, and her belly twisted.

She turned around and nearly crashed into Birchclaw. "Sorry," she mumbled. "Um, would you happen to know where Ravenpaw is?"

Birchclaw nodded. "He went out on the dawn patrol with a few other cats."

Spottedwing nearly fainted in relief. "Oh…thank you." She turned and headed for the fresh-kill pile, her belly yowling in hunger for the first time in a few days. She quickly devoured a juicy rabbit and began to groom herself. Thunder rumbled loudly overhead. Spottedwing glanced at the sky-it was gray and the clouds were moving quickly. The wind was picking up and buffeting her fur. Suddenly, a pang of fear stabbed her belly. _Something's wrong,_ her instincts were telling her.

Spottedwing jumped to her paws and dashed out of the camp. Rain began to pour down, slicing down her pelt and soaking the ground beneath her paws. But she could barely feel the ground; she was running so fast. Her heart echoed in her ears and her breath came out in ragged gasps. _I've got to find him. He's in danger. I just know it._

At last, she slowed to a steady trot, and soon halted. The lifeless body was in front of her. _This is just like the dream. That's Ravenpaw's body. My Ravenpaw…he's dead._

She bounded over to him, tears gently coursing down her cheeks. She licked her son's ear, but he did not stir.

"Nice to see you again, Spottedwing."

Spottedwing spun around, a burning yet icy-cold anger racing through her veins. "Lilypetal! What did you do to him?"

"I didn't do anything," the ginger-and-white she-cat mewed innocently. "He's giving his life for his Clan. This was _his_ choice."

"But why did StarClan choose _him?_ Why couldn't they have chosen _me?_ He was so young…"

"Simply because StarClan knew that there was a good spirit in Ravenpaw. They knew that he would die for his Clan rather than live and watch his Clan be destroyed."

"Any cat would!" Spottedwing scoffed. "_I_ would, and surely any of our warriors would."

"It's easier said than done," Lilypetal pointed out, shrugging. "He was a sacrifice, Spottedwing, for his Clan. And you're the next one."

"Huh?" Spottedwing barely had any time to utter out that last, confused sound before Lilypetal lunged at her, and everything went black.

**Woah…freakiness! Was this chapter awesome, or what? A StarClan cat killing off random cats…haha! This was quite sad, though. Because this is the end of the Spottedwing/Ravenpaw series thing. :( Oh well. I hope you liked!**

**By the way, I'm not sure if cats can cry. But in my stories, let's just say that they can, shall we?**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	53. Stripes

**Ummm…**

**:\**

STRIPES

Everyone knew by now that Sootstripe was evil.

A good-for-nothing-but-killing, murderous, treacherous monster.

"Stripepaw, come get ready for your ceremony!" Creekfur called. The young, muscular dark brown tabby tom nodded and continued grooming himself. He wanted to look his best for his warrior ceremony.

"Stripepaw, you're so lucky!" a she-cat's bitter voice mewed from behind him. He turned to see his sister, Sorrelpaw, and her best friend, Rosepaw.

Sorrelpaw pouted. "It's so unfair that you get your warrior ceremony before us. We're good apprentices, right?"

Stripepaw nodded. "Of course you are. It is pretty unfair, isn't it? But I can't turn down the offer to serve my Clan in an even stronger role, can I?"

"I suppose not," Rosepaw sighed. "But just because you killed that stupid fox, you get to become a warrior. We helped you kill it! We led it to you." She sniffed. "So unfair."

"Life's unfair," Creekfur pointed out, stepping in between the siblings. "The ceremony is about to begin. Come sit down."

Rosepaw and Sorrelpaw turned and padded to a spot beneath the High Hill.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey meet beneath the High Hill for a Clan meeting!" Foxstar called out the usual meeting call, and cats rose to their paws and padded over to the crowd of cats.

"Today is a very special day for a young apprentice to become a warrior," Foxstar announced. "Stripepaw, please step forward. Do you promise to uphold the warrior code and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I d-" Before Stripepaw could finish his sentence, a yowl split through the air. A large group of fierce-looking rogues streamed into the camp, snarling and hissing. Foxstar bristled. "WindClan! Attack!"

The warriors of WindClan leapt forward at the rogues. Stripepaw flung himself off of the High Hill and squarely onto the shoulders of a mighty gray-and-white tom in a surprise attack. The tom hissed in surprise and reared up onto his hind legs, trying to shake Stripepaw off his back. The apprentice would not let go, however. Holding on with one unsheathed paw, he swiped his claws at the tom's ears, leaving long gashes in them. The tom wailed loudly, spun around, and fled the camp. Stripepaw leapt off and turned around, his ears flat and fur bristling.

The rogues gaped at him, and then turned to a large dark gray tom, who was most likely the leader.

The dark gray tom hurled himself at Stripepaw, but the apprentice was too swift. He slipped underneath the tom's belly and batted at him with his forepaws, slamming him to the ground. He pinned the leader down and sank his fangs into his throat.

Gasps rippled throughout the group of rogues. They stared at Stripepaw in horror as he licked the blood off his claws and turned to face them. "Who's next?"

Squealing in terror, the rogues darted out of the camp.

"Stripepaw…that was amazing!" Sorrelpaw exclaimed.

Stripepaw shrugged. "_No cat_ ruins _my_ ceremony."

"Well, come up here, then!" Foxstar meowed. Stripepaw sprang up onto the High Hill again and sat down. Not a scratch on him, or even a hair out of place!

"Now, Stripepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Foxstar asked. Stripepaw dipped his head. "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. From this day forward, you will be known as Stripefoot. StarClan honors your bravery and magnificent strength, and we welcome you as a full warrior of WindClan."

"Stripefoot! Stripefoot!" the whole Clan cheered. Rosepaw cheered especially loudly. She gazed at Stripefoot's dark tabby fur. The wispy willow tree that hung over the High Hill made even more stripes on his pelt, and his amber eyes glittered intelligently and proudly.

Oh, so many stripes…

**Umm, okay. Weird chapter. But this was kinda hard!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	54. Long Forgotten

**Continuation of chapter 36, Disappear!**

LONG FORGOTTEN

Was this a mistake?

Should I have stayed with my Clan?

No, I couldn't have. And just leave Moth out here on her own? I love her so much. But we are struggling this leaf-bare. I'm afraid our kits will not make it. They have to be strong. They must.

I placed the scrawny thrush at Moth's paws. "This was all I could find," I croaked. Moth nudged it to me. "You eat it, Raincloud. You haven't eaten in three days."

Without protesting, I wolfed down the thrush. It didn't satisfy my hunger, but it would have to do for then. Moth sighed and rasped her tongue over the two tiny kits that were nestled in the curve of her belly. Minnowkit and Oakkit- my kits. _Our_ kits. I smiled, and then frowned. It was my fault that they'd been let out into the cold, harsh world full of danger and hatred. Minnowkit gave a squeal, which awoke Oakkit.

Moth nuzzled their heads. "Good morning, sleepyheads."

They yawned and replied in unison, "Morning, Mother."

Oakkit shivered and nestled deeper into his mother's belly fur. "It's cold…" he whimpered. A pang of sorrow and grief stabbed at my heart. I sent StarClan a silent prayer, asking for the weather to be warmer soon. I sighed. "I'll go out and see if I can catch anything."

Moth nodded, and I turned and began to pad through the forest, toward the river. Hopefully I wouldn't see any of my former Clanmates there fishing. At least the weather wasn't too cold for the river to be frozen. As I approached, I saw a light brown she-cat crouched on a rock beside a dark gray tabby tom. They were gazing into the water. Panicking, I ducked behind a bush and peered out between the leaves.

"Any luck?" the brown she-cat asked. The gray tabby tom shook his head and sighed. "None. I'm afraid our Clan won't be fed well enough this leaf-bare." He glanced up, directly at the bush I was under. My fur stood straight on end. _Rockfall? Cloverleaf?_ _My _siblings?_ Why now? I have to fish for my kits…_ I rose up, allowing myself to be seen. _I must do what I must do._

"Ra…Raincloud?" Rockfall hissed. Cloverleaf followed his gaze and gasped. "Raincloud!"

I padded forward, dipping my head in acknowledgement. "Greetings."

Rockfall curled his lip. "What are you doing here? Get off RiverClan territory."

"I have kits now." I changed the subject. "Two. Their names are Minnowkit and Oakkit. They're only a few days old, and we're starving…"

"Come fish, then!" Cloverleaf beckoned me to the rock she was sitting on. I smiled and darted forward, but Rockfall cut me off. "You're not a loyal RiverClan cat anymore, Raincloud. You're just a loner now."

My heart sank. Rockfall obviously didn't care that I was his kin, and that I had two kits that were his kin who were possibly dying this very heartbeat. "Please, Rockfall. If I lose my kits…"

"It doesn't matter!" Rockfall snarled. "They're not _RiverClan_ kits! You're not a _RiverClan_ warrior! This is _RiverClan_ territory! Understand?"

Cloverleaf's face fell. "Rockfall. This is our _brother_, RiverClan cat or not. Show some mercy. His kits are dying. Don't forget that they're your kin."

Rockfall swung his head around to face her. "I don't care. They do not belong to RiverClan, therefore they can't be fed with RiverClan fish."

"Rockfall, this is insane," Cloverleaf meowed sternly. "If any dying cat came and was begging to take just a sip of water from the river, would you turn him down and just let him die?"

Rockfall stayed silent.

"That's what I thought. Now come on, Raincloud. Come fish with me." Cloverleaf flicked her tail and I bounded over to her and stepped onto the rock. Smiling, I mewed, "I haven't fished in forever. I thought maybe the river would be frozen."

Cloverleaf laughed. "Thankfully it's not. If so, RiverClan would be starving! Well, even more so than now."

A flash of silver in the water caught my eye. I lashed my paw out, unsheathing my claws, but missing it by a whisker. "Mousedung!" I hissed. Cloverleaf reached her paw out and caught it, hooking it with her claws. She flung it onto the rock and bit it.

"Wow," I murmured. "I suppose my fishing skills have decreased. Mousedung."

"It's okay," Cloverleaf assured me. "You can have this one." She nudged the minnow toward me. I smiled. "Are you sure? Thanks so much."

Suddenly, I heard Rockfall call out, "Mistytail!"

I glanced up to see a lithe gray she-cat galloping towards us. Her eyes were wide. "Raincloud?" she called. "Is that you?"

I nodded. "Hi. You've gotten your full medicine cat name?"

"Yeah!" She nuzzled me. "I've missed you so much! Cloverleaf told me what happened. So how are you and Moth?"

"We're pretty good," I responded. "But prey is very scarce, so I came here to fish. Cloverleaf says it's okay. I have two kits now, though. Minnowkit and Oakkit."

Mistytail twitched her whiskers. "Wonderful! I've just come out here to find Rockfall. Nightstar needs him for the moonhigh patrol."

"Nightstar?" I echoed, tilting my head. "Nightfoot is the leader? Pinestar died?"

Cloverleaf nodded sadly. "Yes. But Nightstar is much better as a leader than a deputy. At least he _is_ the boss now and he's not so bossy. He's a good leader, but I miss Pinestar."

Rockfall groaned. "All right. I'm going to go." With a longing expression on his face, he turned to look at me. "Farewell, Raincloud." He lingered there for a moment longer, then turned again and hurried off. My heart warmed and I smiled.

Suddenly, Cloverleaf jumped beside me, knocking the minnow into the water. An orange oak leaf had landed on her head.

"That scared me!" she meowed, stared at it as it floated down. "How strange…an oak leaf in the middle of leaf-bare." It landed on the surface of the water beside the barely sinking minnow. I reached in and snatched the fish out.

"Wait!" Mistytail cried. Her dark blue eyes were enormous and her pupils covered most of the color.

"Are you all right?" I asked. She looked frightened. She shook her head. "A sign! From StarClan!" She blinked, and then turned to me. "What did you say your kits' names were?"

"Minnowkit and Oakkit," I responded, puzzled. Suddenly, what she was trying to say hit me. "So…my…my kits…what does this mean, Mistytail? That they'll drown?"

"No…no…" Her eyes lit up. "Did you see how the minnow and leaf floated? That means something good, Raincloud! Something very good."

I sighed in relief. "What could it mean?"

"I'm not sure," Mistytail answered. "But for now, stay away from the river, just in case it's not something good."

I nodded. "Thank you, Cloverleaf and Mistytail. Thanks so much for letting me fish."

"Come back anytime, Raincloud." Cloverleaf pressed her muzzle to my cheek. "We miss you."

"We?"

"Well…Rabbitfoot and Mistytail and I. We all miss you."

"What about…you know, the rest of the Clan?"

"They don't really speak much of you," Cloverleaf admitted. I sighed and picked up the minnow. "Goodbye, then!" I turned and began to trot away from the river. My hopes were plummeted into the ground. By the Clan, I was long forgotten.

**Not bad, not bad! Very long, but pretty good. I actually kind of liked this one! It's a little boring and rambling, but **_**I **_**liked it, at least. **

**xx-Starfall-xx**


End file.
